Seoul says North Korea, China reopen freight train traffic
South Korea says North Korea and China have resumed their freight train service following a five-month hiatus
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea and China resumed freight train service Monday following a five-month hiatus, South Korean officials said, as the North struggles to revive an economy battered by the pandemic, U.N. sanctions and other factors.
The reopening came after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un last month made a dubious claim to have overcome the COVID-19 pandemic and ordered an easing of the restrictions guarding against the spread of the coronavirus.
South Korea’s Unification Ministry, which handles relations with North Korea, said it assessed the North Korea-China freight railway service restarted Monday, though neither Beijing nor Pyongyang has confirmed so. Spokesperson Cho Joonghoon said how long the train service would last and what goods would be transferred would remain to be seen.
Earlier Monday, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency said it has seen a freight train with more than 10 cars leaving the Chinese border city of Dandong and crossing a railway bridge into North Korea’s Sinuiju city.
