Russian diplomats leave North Korea by pushing themselves over border on rail trolley

North Korea has closed its borders because of the coronavirus pandemic, leaving the diplomats and their family members stuck in the country

The group of eight took a train and bus from Pyongyang to the border, and had to cross on foot, loading luggage and passengers onto a train trolley

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A group of Russian diplomats, including their children, pushed themselves for over 1km over train tracks to leave North Korea. Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry/Facebook

Published: 1:11pm, 26 Feb 2021Updated: 1:14pm, 26 Feb 2021

A group of Russian diplomats and family members used a hand-pushed rail trolley to leave North Korea this week, after Pyongyang’s strict anti-coronavirus measures resulted in most forms of passenger transport across the border being blocked.

North Korea has not reported any confirmed cases of the coronavirus, but has imposed crippling border closings, banned most international travel, and severely restricted movement inside the country.

“Since the borders have been closed for more than a year and passenger traffic has been stopped, it took a long and difficult journey to get home,” Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a post on social media.

The group of eight, including a child as young as three, travelled 32 hours by train and two hours by bus from Pyongyang just to reach the Russian border on Thursday, the post said.

The group then had to cross the border on foot, loading luggage and passengers onto to a trolley on the train tracks.

Photos and video released by the ministry show the trolley, laden with brightly coloured bags and suitcases, being pushed across a wintry landscape.

Embassy third secretary Vladislav Sorokin was the trolley’s “engine”, the ministry said, by pushing it for more than 1km, including across a rail bridge over the Tumen River, which divides the two countries.