Overview
- Passenger rail service between the capitals resumed earlier this month after nearly six years of suspension.
- Air China is set to restart direct flights later in March, according to industry sources.
- China’s Foreign Ministry on March 10 said keeping regular train operations carries important significance for cross-border exchanges.
- Experts interpret the restored links as a bid by Beijing to rebuild influence and ensure a central role in any shifting Korean Peninsula diplomacy.
- Expanded transport is expected to draw tourists and foreign currency to North Korea as it reopens, even as recent public snubs highlight an uneven, transactional relationship.