North Korea’s Labor Export Boom: Trains to Russia Now Run Three Times a Week
Resumption of Train Service between Primorsky Krai, China, and North Korea
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Regular Train Service to Resume in December
According to Radio Free Asia (RFA), passenger trains between North Korea and Russia will resume regular operation three times a week starting in December. This development has sparked interest in whether it will lead to an increase in the number of North Korean workers dispatched to Russia.
RFA quoted Interfax as saying that Sergei Fomichev, director of the Far East Development Department of the Russian state-run railway company Russian Rail, announced that “regular train service between Primorsky Krai and China and North Korea will resume on December 15.”
Fomichev revealed that “North Korean and Chinese officials met last week to discuss opening borders after the COVID-19 outbreak” during a recent Russian travel forum in Khabarovsk. He also stated that “passenger train service between China’s Shuifenhe and Russia’s Primorsky Krai’s Grodekovo will resume on December 15,” and that “a regular train service between Khasan Station in Primorsky Krai and North Korea’s Tumen River Station three times a week will also run, which will allow many travelers to travel.”
Development of Railway Line and Test Runs
Additionally, it was reported that a railway line connecting Vladivostok, Russia, and Khasan-Najin, North Korea, is being developed, with test runs scheduled to start in October. Prior to this, North Korea and Russia conducted a test run of a passenger train between Khasan Station and Tuman River Station in June.
Resumption of Tourism in North Korea
North Korea is reportedly planning to fully resume tourism to foreigners starting in December, coinciding with the timing mentioned by Director Fomichev. Koryo Tours, a travel agency specializing in North Korea, confirmed in August that “tourism in Samjiyon and throughout North Korea will officially resume in December,” and that “North Korea’s borders will be open to all nationalities.”
Reporter: Gu Chae-eun