Beijing-Pyongyang passenger train service set to resume after nearly six years

North Korea and China are set to resume direct passenger rail service between Beijing and Pyongyang on March 12, ending a suspension of nearly six years that began when Pyongyang sealed its borders in January 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to a Daily NK source with knowledge of cross-border transport arrangements, the Beijing-Pyongyang and Dandong-Pyongyang passenger rail lines will resume service starting March 12. The source said Chinese international travel agencies received formal notification of the resumption on the morning of March 9, with departure scheduled for 5:25 p.m. on March 12.

China State Railway Group’s International Cooperation Department issued a notice confirming that passenger rail service between China and North Korea would restart on that date, following coordination with the Korean State Railway. The notice was distributed to 15 government agencies, including the Asian Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Port Supervision Division of the General Administration of Customs, and the border inspection management division of the National Immigration Administration. Schedules and train configurations are to be arranged in accordance with agreed terms.

Tourism prospects and diplomatic signals

The source noted that the resumption carries broader implications. “The notice came through with a scheduled departure time, and if service actually restarts on that basis, there is a strong likelihood that tourism to North Korea will resume before long,” the source said.

North Korea’s General Bureau of Tourism had published an international rail timetable connecting Beijing and Pyongyang on its official tourism website in July last year, alongside a Pyongyang-Shanghai flight schedule. At the time, the postings prompted speculation about a potential reopening of cross-border travel, but no actual train service materialized.

Analysts see the latest development as a signal that Pyongyang is moving to normalize people-to-people exchanges with China that have been effectively frozen since the pandemic. With international sanctions continuing to restrict North Korea’s access to foreign currency, some observers view the push to revive the tourism industry as a reflection of the authorities’ determination to open a lawful channel for earning hard currency.

The source cautioned that the full scope and timeline of North Korea’s openness to foreign visitors remains unclear. “The direction of external opening has not yet been clearly defined,” the source said, adding that the significance of the move by both countries amid the current complex international situation is drawing close attention.

Whether the passenger rail resumption will translate into a broader expansion of cross-border people-to-people ties remains to be seen. Observers are watching closely for signs that the historically close relationship between Pyongyang and Beijing is returning to a footing of substantive cooperation after a period of relative distance during North Korea’s deepening alignment with Russia.

Separately, the source said the notifications sent to Chinese travel agencies also included word that the Pyongyang International Marathon, originally scheduled for early April, has been canceled.

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