MARKET STRUCTURE · EAST ASIA
China and North Korea resume passenger train services
Change
China and North Korea resume passenger train services this week after a six-year suspension.
Why it matters
Services were halted in 2020 under strict border closures. Official ticketing booths in Beijing and the border city of Dandong are selling tickets for departures this week. Tickets are available to Chinese nationals working or studying in North Korea and to North Korean nationals working, studying, or visiting family abroad. Tourists are explicitly ineligible to purchase tickets.
Implications
- • Ticket sales are restricted to specified eligibility categories at official booths.
- • Tourists cannot purchase rail tickets for the resumed cross-border services.
- • Ticket distribution is centralized through official ticketing booths in Beijing and Dandong.
Who is affected
- • Chinese nationals working or studying in North Korea
- • North Korean nationals working, studying, or visiting family abroad
- • Travel agents and official ticketing booths in Beijing and Dandong
- • Tourists seeking rail travel between the two countries
What to watch
- • First resumed service departure on Thursday
Source
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