North Korea Resumes Pyongyang-Beijing Passenger Train After Six-Year COVID Pause

A North Korea–China international passenger train resumed service on the 12th after a hiatus of about six years, when Pyongyang closed its borders during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Pyongyang–Beijing route is back in operation, continuing cross-border travel that had been suspended since January 2020.

The service runs four times a week in both directions, on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday, according to China’s state rail operator. The train makes a stop in the northeastern Chinese city of Dandong, a gateway city on the Yalu River opposite North Korea’s Sinuiju.

Travel time for a one-way journey is listed as roughly 12 hours or longer. The route traverses the Yalu River via a bridge connecting Dandong with North Korea and ties into Beijing’s passenger rail network for onward travel.

North Korea’s border closures during the pandemic ended a period when foreign visitors to the country, led by Chinese travelers, constituted a significant portion of international tourism. Before the border restrictions, Chinese visitors were among the largest groups of foreign guests in North Korea.

In recent years, North Korea has promoted tourism by developing facilities along its east coast to attract foreign visitors. The revival of the Pyongyang–Beijing passenger link underscores renewed cross-border movement even as Pyongyang maintains its broader security and diplomacy posture.

For U.S. readers, the resumed service matters as a concrete signal of China–North Korea ties and the potential implications for regional security, sanctions enforcement, and people-to-people exchanges. While the route remains limited in scope, it reflects ongoing mobility in Northeast Asia and could influence how policymakers view the region’s supply chains, tourism dynamics, and the balance of influence among regional players.