Train services between Pyongyang and Beijing to resume for 1st time since Covid-19 pandemic
Published: 10 Mar. 2026, 14:22
Updated: 10 Mar. 2026, 18:32
![A train that operates between Pyongyang and Beijing [SCREEN CAPTURE]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2026/03/10/d564fb8d-7e31-47ba-ae33-0fb343592333.jpg)
A train that operates between Pyongyang and Beijing [SCREEN CAPTURE]
International train services between Pyongyang and Beijing are set to resume for the first time in about six years since the Covid-19 pandemic.
Round-trip operations will begin Thursday, with trains running four times a week on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, a China State Railway Group service center official told Yonhap News Agency on Tuesday.
The train will depart Beijing at 5:26 p.m. and arrive in Pyongyang at around 6 p.m. the following day, according to the railway group official.
The train will make one stop in Dandong, Liaoning Province, in China, the country’s largest border city across the Yalu River from Sinuiju, North Korea.
Only the last two cars of the train are expected to be used for passenger transport, according to the official.
“The train will initially be operated to transport people traveling for official purposes, such as diplomats,” the official said. “If seats remain available, the possibility of selling tickets to ordinary passengers may also be considered.”
![Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, poses for photos with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Sept. 4, 2025. [AP/YONHAP]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2026/03/10/9f829539-a4ba-44a2-9899-bece29bf2591.jpg)
Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, poses for photos with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Sept. 4, 2025. [AP/YONHAP]
Regular passengers, however, are expected to be able to board the train in Dandong rather than Beijing, according to reports.
Japan’s Kyodo News also reported on Tuesday that before North Korea restricted foreign visits following the pandemic, Chinese nationals made up the largest group of foreign visitors to the country. Since the outbreak, however, North Korea has not accepted Chinese tourists.
The report added that North Korea-China relations are expected to become more active going forward.
Before the pandemic, the Pyongyang-Beijing international train — which ran through Dandong and Sinuiju — served as one of the key overland transportation routes linking the two countries’ capitals. North Korea halted the service after sealing its borders for an extended period following the Covid-19 outbreak.
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.
BY JUNG SI-NAE [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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