Korean State Railway

Stories

North Korea edges back into the world after six years of extreme isolation

As of May 2026: Operating the North Korean leg of the resumed Beijing-Pyongyang train

North Korea sealed its borders on January 23, 2020, before most countries had heard of COVID-19. For six years it operated in near-total isolation: China trade fell 96%, food reached levels not seen since the 1990s famine that killed hundreds of thousands, and no tourists entered.

Updated May 30