N. Korea, China reopen cross-border land route for postal service exchanges
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, center, shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, following their summit in Beijing in this photo released by the North's official Korean Central News Agency, Sept. 6. Yonhap
North Korea and China reopened a land route for postal services late last month that connects the North's border city of Sinuiju to China's Dandong, China's state postal service said Friday.
The Sinuiju-Dandong land postal route has been "officially resumed" on Sept. 25 with cooperation from relevant government agencies, China's state post bureau said in a message on its social media.
"The reopening of the China-North Korea land postal route is expected to provide greater convenience for postal exchanges between the peoples of the two countries," it said.
The two border cities had undergone vibrant exchanges of personnel and transport before the North closed down its border in early 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The resumption of the land route for postal exchanges came after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged to increase cooperation and bilateral exchanges during their talks on the sidelines of the military parade in Beijing last month.
Some speculate that economic exchanges between Pyongyang and Beijing, which have been stalled for years, may gain traction as the two nations seek to normalize relations and resume senior-level exchanges.