Train Service between Moscow and North Korea's Pyongyang to Resume This Month, Says Russia
Russia and North Korea plan to restart a direct passenger train service between Moscow and the North Korean capital Pyongyang this month for the first time since 2020, Russia's state-owned rail monopoly said on Monday.
Russian Railways said it had agreed with North Korea's railways ministry to resume a twice-monthly service between the two capitals on June 17, a journey it said took eight days and which, at over 10,000 km (6,213 miles), was the longest direct rail journey in the world.
Another service between Pyongyang and Khabarovsk, a Russian city close to China's northeastern border, will restart two days later.
The services will be operated by Korean State Railway, the state operator, and in the case of the Moscow-Pyongyang route will see a North Korean passenger railcar hitched to the regular Moscow-Vladivostok service and then re-attached to another train.
Passenger rail traffic between Russia and North Korea was suspended in February 2020 at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Moscow and Pyongyang have since ratcheted up cooperation, including in the military sphere since President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signed a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty last year.
North Korea confirmed in late April that it had sent more than 10,000 troops and weapons to Russia to assist in its war in Ukraine, aid which proved crucial for Moscow in recapturing Russia's western Kursk region from Ukraine.
The two countries already operate a passenger rail service between Vladivostok in Russia's Far East and Rason, a North Korean port city.
The nations are also linked by freight rail networks, although Russia does not disclose the size of the cargo traffic.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab News
18 hours ago
- Arab News
Israel, US crossed ‘very big red line' with attack: Iranian FM
ISTANBUL: The US and Israel crossed a major red line in attacking Iran's nuclear facilities, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday, just hours after a US strike on its nuclear facilities. 'There is no red line that they have not crossed. And the last one, and the most dangerous one, happened only last night. They crossed a very big red line by attacking nuclear facilities,' he said. Araghchi also said that he would travel to Moscow for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday following the US strike on Iran's nuclear facilities. 'I'm going to Moscow this afternoon' and will hold 'serious consultations with the Russian president tomorrow' morning, Araghchi said at a press conference in Istanbul on the sidelines of an OIC summit.
Arab News
2 days ago
- Arab News
Ukraine says received Russian bodies in war dead exchanges
Zelenbsky accused Russia of 'not checking' who they were sending'Sometimes these bodies even have Russian passports'KYIV: Kyiv received the bodies of 20 Russian soldiers instead of Ukrainian ones during exchanges of war dead with Moscow, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in remarks made public accused Russia of 'not checking' who they were sending, and suggested Moscow might be doing it on purpose to conflate the number of Ukrainian bodies they repatriation of fallen soldiers and the exchange of prisoners of war has been one of the few areas of cooperation between the warring sides since Moscow invaded Ukraine in February and Kyiv agreed earlier this month during talks in Istanbul to exchange the bodies of 6,000 soldiers each.'It has already been confirmed during repatriations that the bodies of 20 people handed over to us as our deceased soldiers are Russian,' Zelensky said in remarks released on Saturday.'Sometimes these bodies even have Russian passports,' he 'Israeli mercenary' fighting for Moscow was also among those sent, he of thousands of soldiers have been killed on both sides since the war began. Neither country regularly releases information on military said there were currently '695,000 Russian troops' on Ukrainian received the bodies of 20 Russian soldiers instead of Ukrainian ones during exchanges of war dead with Moscow, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in remarks made public Saturday. (AFP/File)
Asharq Al-Awsat
2 days ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Syrian Security Forces Detain Cousin of Toppled Leader Assad
Syria's security forces have detained Wassim al-Assad, a cousin of toppled leader Bashar al-Assad, state news agency SANA said on Saturday. Wassim al-Assad was sanctioned by the United States in 2023 for leading a paramilitary force backing Assad's army and for trafficking drugs including the amphetamine-like drug captagon, Reuters said. Bashar al-Assad was toppled by the opposition factions in December and fled to Moscow. Most of his family members and inner circle either fled Syria or went underground. Syria's new security forces have been pursuing members of the former administration - mainly those involved in the feared security branches accused of rights abuses. Rights groups have called for a fully-fledged transitional justice process to hold them to account.
