Focus

North Korea, China resume cross-border train trade after Covid suspension

27 Sep 2022 11:15am
Cross-border freight train services were suspended in late April, after China's border town of Dandong reported Covid outbreaks. - 123RF Photo
Cross-border freight train services were suspended in late April, after China's border town of Dandong reported Covid outbreaks. - 123RF Photo

SEOUL - North Korea and China have resumed cross-border freight train trade, Seoul said Tuesday, ending a five-month suspension linked to Covid-19.

North Korea has maintained a rigid blockade since the start of the pandemic, with even trade with China the North's economic lifeline slowing to a trickle.

Cross-border freight train services were suspended in late April, after China's border town of Dandong reported Covid outbreaks, reports said at the time. Pyongyang confirmed its own Omicron variant outbreak soon after.

"We believe the freight train service has resumed between China and North Korea," an official from Seoul's unification ministry, which handles relations with the North, told AFP on Tuesday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity.

China's foreign ministry said Monday that after "friendly consultations" the neighbouring countries had decided to restart railway freight.

"The two sides will continue to strengthen coordination and cooperation, (and) actively ensure the safe and stable operation of railway freight," said Wang Wenbin, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman.

A locomotive towing around ten train cars crossed the Dandong-Sinuiju bridge from China into the North on Monday, Seoul's Yonhap News Agency reported.

North Korea confirmed an outbreak of the Omicron variant in the capital Pyongyang in May. It has blamed "alien things" from the South for causing the outbreak.

Related Articles:

Kim Jong Un who fell ill during the outbreak declared victory over the virus in August, and ordered the lifting of the country's "maximum emergency epidemic prevention system" after officially reported cases fell to zero.

North Korea refers to "fever patients" rather than "Covid patients" in case reports, apparently due to a lack of testing capacity.

It has recorded nearly 4.8 million "fever" infections and just 74 deaths for an official fatality rate of 0.002 percent, according to state media.

Experts, including the World Health Organization, have questioned Pyongyang's Covid statistics, as well as its claims to have brought the outbreak under control.

North Korea has one of the world's worst healthcare systems, with poorly equipped hospitals, few intensive care units and no Covid treatment drugs, according to experts. - AFP

North Korea
China
resume
cross border
train trade
Covid 19
Kim Jong Un
More Like This
US President-elect Donald Trump on Sunday suggested that he may allow TikTok to continue operations in the United States. - Photo: XINHUA
US President-elect Donald Trump on Sunday suggested that he may allow TikTok to continue operations in the United States. - Photo: XINHUA
World Trump says may keep TikTok around 'for a little while'
The nation's top court is set to hear arguments on Jan 10 regarding whether the law unconstitutionally limits freedom of speech, in breach of the First Amendment.
Police officers stand guards during an anti-Yoon Suk Yeol public activity, as the South Korean President is expected to face impeachment following his declaration of an emergency martial law, in Seoul, South Korea, on 04 December, 2024. - Anadolu Agency file photo
Police officers stand guards during an anti-Yoon Suk Yeol public activity, as the South Korean President is expected to face impeachment following his declaration of an emergency martial law, in Seoul, South Korea, on 04 December, 2024. - Anadolu Agency file photo
World Police analysing Yoon's phone records in martial law probe
Police are also working to obtain a secure phone used by Yoon and its records from the Presidential Security Service.
Photo for illustrative purposes only - Canva
Photo for illustrative purposes only - Canva
World Health warning issued over flesh-eating ulcer in Southeast Australian state
The Department of Health in Victoria on Friday said that cases of Buruli ulcer are spreading across the state, including in inner Melbourne.
Donald Trump's transition team is pushing to pull the United States out of the WHO on the first day of the new administration, according to experts who warn of the "catastrophic" impact it would have on global health, the Financial Times reported. - Photo: XINHUA
Donald Trump's transition team is pushing to pull the United States out of the WHO on the first day of the new administration, according to experts who warn of the "catastrophic" impact it would have on global health, the Financial Times reported. - Photo: XINHUA
World US withdrawal from WHO would be 'catastrophic' - Expert
Members of Trump's team told experts of their intention to announce withdrawal from the global health body on the president-elect's Jan 20 inauguration, noting that the departure would remove WHO's biggest source of funds, damaging its ability to respond to public health crises such...