The direct train service between Pyongyang, North Korea, and Moscow, Russia, which was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, has resumed after about five years.
According to Russian news agencies RIA Novosti and TASS, the direct train that departed from Pyongyang on the 17th arrived at Moscow's Yaroslavsky railway station on the 25th (local time). The total travel time was about eight days.
This train was operated for the first time since services were suspended in February 2020. Following the resumption of train services in the Tumen River and Hasansky transit areas in December last year, a full-scale international route has been restarted.
A representative from North Korea's railway authorities said, "This carriage currently has no passengers, only crew members have arrived," adding, "The crew members have worked this service before, and they are pleased to resume this route."
He also explained, "This direct train is composed of modernized carriages compared to before, and environmentally friendly bathrooms have been installed in the new vehicles introduced last year."
The resumption of the direct route was made possible after the summit between Chairman Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin in June last year, and it is seen as a symbolic measure of the friendly relationship between North Korea and Russia.
The Pyongyang-Moscow direct train is the longest route in the world, covering over 10,000 kilometers, and departs from Pyongyang on the 3rd and 17th of each month, arriving in Moscow on the 11th and 25th. In Moscow, it departs on the 12th and 26th of each month, arriving in Pyongyang on the 20th and 4th. Tickets are on sale starting 60 days before departure.
Meanwhile, Russia installed a plaque at Moscow's Yaroslavsky station last November to commemorate Chairman Kim Il Sung's first visit to the Soviet Union in 1949.