North Korea eases tourism restrictions again.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un disembarks from a train in North Pyongan province, near the border with China, in 2024. Photo: KCNA/Reuters .

On March 10, South Korean news agency Yonhap reported that the passenger train service between Pyongyang (North Korea) and Beijing (China) will officially resume operation from March 12, with a frequency of four round trips per week.

Initially, only the last two carriages of the train were used to carry passengers, primarily diplomats or those on official business. According to a railway official quoted by Yonhap , tickets may be sold to regular passengers if seats are still available.

Passenger train services between the two countries have been disrupted since 2020 when strict border closures were implemented to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

Before the pandemic, Chinese tourists accounted for the largest proportion of international visitors to North Korea. Speaking at a press conference on March 10, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said that maintaining regular passenger train services between the two countries is important in promoting bilateral people-to-people exchanges, according to Global Times.

Trucks travel across the Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge from the border city of Dandong (China) to the city of Sinuiju in North Korea, September 2017. Photo: Kyodo.

According to AFP , official ticket agents in Beijing and the Chinese border city of Dandong said that from March 10, Chinese citizens working or studying in North Korea could buy train tickets to the country. The first train is scheduled to depart on March 12.

Travel agencies say that North Korean citizens working, studying, or visiting relatives abroad can also purchase tickets to return home. However, international tourists are not currently eligible to buy tickets.

Rowan Beard, tour manager at Young Pioneer Tours , one of the few foreign companies specializing in tours to North Korea, said the resumption of international train services is a positive sign.

According to him, although the service is not initially available for tourists, this train route could become an additional transportation option, alongside air travel, when North Korea reopens to tourism in the future.

North Korea remains largely closed to international tourism. According to tour operators, only a limited number of Russian tourist groups are permitted entry under restricted programs.

Foreign athletes participate in the Pyongyang Marathon on April 6, 2025. Photo: Kyodo .

Tour organizers say North Korea recently abruptly canceled the Pyongyang International Marathon, scheduled for early next month, but did not give a specific reason.

According to the travel company Koryo Tours, the decision to cancel the race was made quite unexpectedly and appears to have been made at a higher level than the event organizers.

The Pyongyang International Marathon is the largest international sporting event in North Korea. It is also one of the rare occasions that allows foreign tourists to participate and run through the heavily controlled streets of the capital, Pyongyang.