North resumes passenger train service to Beijing in potential tourism pus...

A freight train departs from Dandong, China, heading toward Sinuiju, North Korea, on May 9, 2023. [YONHAP]North Korea and China resumed passenger train services between Beijing and Pyongyang on Thursday, restarting a route that had been suspended for six years due to Covid-19 border controls in what is thought to be a bid to lay the groundwork for a tourism bump from North Korea's traditional allies.Speaking at a regular press briefing on March 10, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said the resumption of passenger train operations between the two countries was meaningful as China and North Korea are “friendly neighbors.” He added that China supports closer communication between the relevant authorities of both countries to facilitate people-to-people exchanges and create more convenient conditions for cross-border travel.According to China State Railway Group, passenger trains connecting Pyongyang and Beijing began operating four times a week from March 12 — departing Beijing on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. The service was suspended in January 2020 after North Korea closed its borders to prevent the spread of Covid-19.For now, however, the trains are expected to be available mainly to travelers visiting North Korea for business purposes or those holding invitations issued by the North Korean authorities, according to sources familiar with the matter. Some observers speculate that ordinary tourists could also be allowed to travel after April 15, the birthday of North Korea’s founding leader Kim Il Sung, known as the “Day of the Sun.”Meanwhile, Vostok Intour, a North Korea–focused travel agency based in Russia’s Primorsky region, recently launched a tourism package featuring a direct train journey from Moscow to Pyongyang. According to the agency’s website, the itinerary includes departing from Moscow’s Yaroslavsky Station on May 26 and traveling by passenger train to Pyongyang over eight days.Applications for the package are limited to Russian passport holders, suggesting that North Korea has not yet fully reopened its borders to foreign tourists.Earlier this year, North Korea halted a tourism program targeting Western visitors just three weeks after its launch. Analysts in and outside the government have suggested the suspension may be linked to the authorities’ sensitivity to foreign tourists sharing real-time videos on social media showing poor living conditions inside the country.Jung Yoo-seok, a research fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification, said that given leader Kim Jong-un’s emphasis on the tourism industry — highlighted by the development of the Wonsan-Kalma coastal tourist zone — the launch of tourism products aimed at earning foreign currency is likely only a matter of time. However, he added that Pyongyang is likely to closely monitor international developments, including the situation involving Iran, and may re-open tourism when the potential impact on the regime is minimal.This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.