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China and North Korea Resume Cross-Border Passenger Train Service After Six Years
The Beijing-Pyongyang train resumes after six years, operating four times weekly to boost bilateral ties and trade, with daily Dandong-Pyongyang service for diplomats and businesspeople.
- On March 12, 2026, China Railway restarted passenger services between Beijing Railway Station, Beijing, and Pyongyang, North Korea, ending a six-year suspension since 2020.
- Framed as part of 're‑normalisation,' China’s foreign ministry said on March 10 that the route aims to facilitate travel, trade, and cultural exchanges following September talks between Kim Jong Un and Xi Jinping.
- Following an overnight run, Train K27 will stop at Tianjin, port city, and Dandong, Chinese border city, before border clearance at Dandong and Sinuiju, North Korea.
- Service notices indicate the route will operate, with tickets restricted to diplomats and businesspeople; the Beijing–Pyongyang route runs four days a week, and tickets for March 12 sold out, while March 18 remains available.
- Experts cautioned that the move may signal re‑normalisation, noting China is North Korea's largest trading partner and Associate Professor Chong Ja Ian said 'A lot of the previous limit on contact seems to be due to Pyongyang's apprehensions about broader contact, which have diminished'.
66 Articles
66 Articles
Relations between North Korea and China may be getting a little friendlier again. After six long years of isolation, trains have resumed between the two countries. Four trains a week are scheduled from Beijing to Pyongyang, and every day from the border town of Tan-tung. The border town in particular stands to benefit from the warming of relations with its isolated neighbor. For now, both train and road traffic use the old bridge, which was buil…
Train from North Korea to China reaches Beijing after six-year pause
The first train from North Korea to Beijing in nearly six years arrived on Friday morning after nearly a day’s journey, China’s railway authority said.China is North Korea’s largest trading partner and a vital source of diplomatic, economic and political support for the isolated nuclear state.Train journeys between the East Asian neighbours were halted in...
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