Russia and North Korea plan to restart direct passenger train services between Moscow and North Korea's Pyongyang capital this month.
The Russian Railway Company said that the North Korean Railway Ministry will resume twice-month railway service between the two capitals on June 17.
With a length of more than 10,000km, the journey between Moscow and Pyongyang takes 8 days and is the longest direct railway journey in the world.
Railway services between Pyongyang and Khabarovsk, a Russian city near China's northeastern border, will be restarted two days after trains connecting the two capitals were restored.
These trains will be operated by the North Korean State Railway Company. For the Moscow - Pyongyang route, the North Korean passenger carrier will be connected to the regular train from Moscow to Vladivostok, then continue to be connected to another train to complete the journey.
Passenger rail traffic between Russia and North Korea was suspended in February 2020 due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Since then, Moscow and Pyongyang have increased cooperation, including in the military field, after Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un signed a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty last year.
Currently, Russia and North Korea have a passenger route operating between Vladivostok (Russian Far East region) and Rason (a port city of North Korea).
Russia and North Korea are also connected by a freight rail network, although Russia has not announced the scale of freight flows.
