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Liu Zhen

China and North Korea have resumed cross-border freight train operations five months after they were suspended, the Chinese foreign ministry confirmed.
The two countries agreed to resume the services between Dandong in China and Sinuiju in North Korea after “friendly consultations”, ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Monday.
“Both sides will continue to strengthen coordination and cooperation to actively ensure the safe and stable operation of rail freight,” Wang said.
A freight train from Dandong crossed the Yalu River Bridge and arrived in Sinuiju on Monday, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported.


Cross-border transport between North Korea and China was suspended on April 29 when Dandong reported a new wave of Covid-19 cases. Soon after, North Korea also reported its own Covid-19 outbreaks, which it says have since ended.
It was the second time the Dandong-Sinuiju link had been suspended due to the pandemic. It was closed in early 2020 when Covid-19 was first detected in Wuhan in central China and only reopened in January this year.
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The Dandong-Sinuiju railway crossing is a key trade link between North Korea and its main supplier China, which accounts for more than 90 per cent of the isolated country’s international trade.
During the railway closure, freight transport had been restricted to sea links between North Korea’s Nampo port and China’s Qingdao and Yantai ports across the Yellow Sea, making shipments much slower.
An attempt to restart the freight trains last November was derailed when another outbreak in Dandong forced a border shutdown again.
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In probably the world’s most stringent control measures, Pyongyang shut all its borders, rejected foreign visitors, and stopped all international flights.
Observers said the policy aggravated North Korea’s shortage of food and medicine, and further damaged the country’s economy, which was already under United Nations sanctions.
Despite the extreme efforts, the coronavirus still swept across North Korea. The government has never stated exactly how many North Koreans have been infected by Covid-19, but Pyongyang did confirm in its first official report about the pandemic that hundreds of thousands of people were affected in the outbreaks in May 2022.


Despite a lack of test kits and vaccines, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un declared victory over the pandemic and ordered the lifting of maximum anti-epidemic measures, adding that North Korea must maintain a “steel-strong anti-epidemic barrier”.


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Coronavirus: freight trains roll again between China and North Korea after 5 months on hold

North Korea and China resumed freight train services on Monday after a five-month hiatus. Photo: AP

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Workers disinfect the interior of Pyongyang International Airport as part of the country’s anti-coronavirus measures. Photo: KCNA via KNS/AFP

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Employees spray disinfectant and wipe surfaces as part of preventive measures against Covid-19 at the Pyongyang Children’s Department Store in March. Photo: TNS 

Workers spray disinfectant inside the Pyongyang Department Store No. 1 before opening for business. North Korea on Thursday confirmed its first-ever case of Covid-19, with state media declaring it a “severe national emergency incident” after more than two years of purportedly keeping the pandemic at bay. Photo: AFP

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South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol. Photo: EPA-EFE

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News

China

Diplomacy


Cross-border transport between the countries was suspended on April 29 when Dandong reported new wave of Covid-19 cases
The two countries resumed freight operations between ports after ‘friendly consultations’



China and North Korea have resumed cross-border freight transport after links were closed in April due to Covid-19 outbreaks.


North Korea

North Korea sanctions

Coronavirus: freight trains roll again between China and North Korea after 5 months on hold

Cross-border transport between the countries was suspended on April 29 when Dandong reported new wave of Covid-19 cases The two countries resumed freight operations between ports after ‘friendly consultations’

Cross-border transport between the countries was suspended on April 29 when Dandong reported new wave of Covid-19 cases

The two countries resumed freight operations between ports after ‘friendly consultations’