Cross-border passenger trains between China and North Korea will resume this week, offering a vital link for workers and students after a six-year pandemic suspension.

BEIJING: Passenger train service between China and North Korea will resume on Thursday, ending a six-year suspension that began in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Travel agents operating official ticketing booths in Beijing and Dandong confirmed the resumption to AFP, stating the service will initially be available to Chinese nationals working and studying in North Korea, as well as North Koreans working, studying, or visiting family abroad.

Tourists are not yet eligible to purchase tickets for the cross-border rail link.

“It’s great to see the international train service resuming,” said Rowan Beard, tours manager at the North Korea-specialist firm Young Pioneer Tours.

Beard confirmed his company would be able to book tickets from Thursday, adding that while not initially for tourists, the train would provide an alternative travel option once tourism to North Korea eventually returns.

The resumption follows the restoration of direct flights and train services between North Korea and Russia last year, as the two nations have strengthened ties since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine.

 The Sun Malaysia