Ammon News - The first passenger train service between the Chinese and North Korean capitals left Beijing ​Railway Station on Thursday, ending a six-year gap, as China moves to ‌shore up cross-border infrastructure and rebuild ties with its neighbour.

Train K27 will arrive in the North Korean capital at 6:07 p.m. (0907 GMT) on Friday, after a journey of ​24 hours and 41 minutes skirting north of the Bohai Sea ​with a stopover in the border city of Dandong, China's railway ⁠authority said.

China and North Korea are "friendly neighbours" and a cross-border passenger ​train service facilitates people-to-people exchanges, a foreign ministry spokesperson told reporters on Thursday.

China ​also backs stronger communication between both sides to ease such exchanges, the spokesperson added.

The service was suspended when the COVID-19 pandemic broke out in 2020.

Reuters