China-North Korea passenger railway service resumes to boost people-to-people exchange

Beijing (ANTARA) - The passenger railway service on the Beijing-Pyongyang route reopened on Thursday, 12 March, after being suspended for six years to facilitate people-to-people mobility between the two countries.

“China and North Korea are neighbouring and friendly countries. Maintaining regular passenger railway services is important for facilitating exchanges between the peoples of the two nations,” said Guo Jiakun, spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on Thursday.

China Railway announced that effective 12 March 2026, the international passenger train service resumed bidirectional operations between Beijing and Dandong in China and Pyongyang in North Korea.

The service aims to promote personnel exchange, economic cooperation and trade, cultural exchange between the two countries, and enhance the well-being and friendship between the peoples of both nations.

“We support enhanced communication between relevant authorities of both countries to create more conducive conditions for people-to-people exchange,” Jiakun added.

In China, passengers can board or alight at Beijing Station, Tianjin Station, Shanhaiguan Station, Shenyang Station, and Dandong Station; whilst in North Korea, stops are available at Pyongyang Station and Sinuiju Station.

Border crossing procedures are conducted at the Dandong border crossing in China and Sinuiju in North Korea.

Currently, tickets for the China-North Korea international passenger service are being sold offline at five international ticket sales points in China: Beijing, Tianjin, Shanhaiguan, Shenyang, and Dandong stations.

The Beijing-Pyongyang train offers hard sleeper and soft sleeper classes with ticket prices exceeding 1,000 RMB (approximately 2.4 million rupiah) per journey.

The train crosses the New Yalu River Great Bridge, which borders both Chinese and North Korean territory.

In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the passenger service between China and North Korea was suspended. During the six-year suspension, North Korean Railways’ passenger carriages were nevertheless used for cross-border freight transportation since 2021.

Train K27 departed from Beijing Station on Thursday, 12 March, at 17:26 Beijing time and arrives at the North Korean capital at 18:07 local time on Friday, 13 March, after a journey of 24 hours and 41 minutes.

Train K28 departs from Pyongyang Station on Thursday, 12 March, at 10:26 local time and arrives the following day at 08:40.

In 2019, 350,000 Chinese citizens visited North Korea, a figure comprising more than 90 per cent of North Korea’s total foreign tourists.

North Korea’s national airline, Air Koryo, also resumed flights to China in 2023 and now offers service between the two capitals twice weekly on Tuesdays and Saturdays.