North Korea and China are seeking to expand their trade and diplomatic ties. Starting March 30, China's national carrier Air China will resume flights from Beijing to Pyongyang, which will be operated once a week. North Korean airline Air Koryo has been flying twice a week between the two capitals since August 2023, as well as to Shenyang in China.
And starting March 13, after more than a six-year hiatus, passenger rail services between the capitals of the two countries were restored, having been suspended at the beginning of the pandemic, which led to North Korea tightly closing its borders. According to official Chinese data, passenger trains from Pyongyang to Beijing now run four times a week, as well as once - to the Chinese city of Dandong. Freight transport between the two neighboring countries resumed after the pandemic in January 2022.
China and North Korea strengthen ties
Expert Jeon Dong-hee, a former spokesman for the South Korean Ministry of Unification, told DW that exchanges between China and North Korea have increased recently, with bilateral trade growing by about 20 percent compared to the same period last year. “The resumption of rail links suggests that the movement of people and goods is gradually reviving and returning to its usual rhythm,“ says Jeon. According to him, the main importance of the railway connection on the Pyongyang-Beijing route is not in the transportation of passengers, but in ensuring official contacts and the transportation of important cargo.
„In this case, the transportation of high-ranking officials and strategic cargo (such as oil, food, etc.) is of greater importance than the usual transportation of passengers. If Air China flights are operated regularly, and not temporarily, this will once again confirm the intention of the two countries to deepen their cooperation“, the expert suggests.
How to travel by train from Beijing to Pyongyang?
Those who travel by train from Beijing to Pyongyang usually get off in the border Chinese city of Dandong, where they transfer to a North Korean train and travel to North Korea. The trains are not new, but they are clean and comfortable enough.
Opposite the Chinese city of Dandong, located on the Yalujiang River, is the North Korean city of Sinijdu - there, passengers undergo strict passport and customs control. Border guards and customs officers collect all passports, sometimes even inspecting mobile phones for prohibited content such as South Korean, Japanese or American films or photos. Luggage may also be checked very carefully. Passports are returned shortly before the train leaves for Pyongyang. The procedure for traveling from Pyongyang to Beijing looks similar. Screeners can make passengers delete any photos or videos deemed objectionable, especially if they feature military personnel.
North Korea unveils new five-year plan
Jong Dong-hee suggests that rising geopolitical tensions in other parts of the world could also affect Pyongyang's plans. According to him, China and North Korea probably view the current global conflicts as evidence of the shift in the world order towards multipolarity and as an opportunity to weaken the influence of international sanctions against North Korea.
Ahn Chang-il, head of the World Institute for North Korea Studies and a former North Korean soldier who defected to the South in 1979, noted to DW that the railway connections between the neighboring countries are an important diplomatic and economic channel: “The trains serve as a communication channel between the two governments, and they also transport North Koreans who earn foreign currency abroad“, he explains.
After the Ninth Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea, which ended at the end of February, the authorities promulgated a new five-year plan for the country's development. “Expanding transport links is part of boosting bilateral trade to support this program“, says Ahn.
Is North Korea again relying on Chinese tourists?
The expert links the resumption of Air China flights to Pyongyang to North Korea's efforts to develop tourism, especially in the coastal area of Wensan and the Samji Lake area - popular destinations for Chinese tourists in the past. According to data from the South Korean National Security Institute from November 2023, in 2019 - the last year before the pandemic - North Korea was visited by about 300,000 foreign tourists. About 90% of them were from China, and their trips brought Pyongyang between 78 and 130 million euros.
Meanwhile, some Chinese travel agencies have started advertising trips to North Korea online again, starting at around 400 euros. But neither Beijing nor Pyongyang has officially announced the resumption of this type of tourism. Chinese media wrote that tours to North Korea “often arouse curiosity, but without an official announcement on the matter, the resumption of railway connections does not mean that tourist trips have resumed“.
“All tourism in North Korea is strictly controlled by state institutions, to which Chinese tour operators have limited access. Customers who buy such trips without special caution risk losses if they ultimately refuse to refund their money“, Chinese media warned.
Author: Dong Hu