Coronavirus: Russian diplomats leave North Korea on rail trolley

Pyongyang cancelled all flights and cross-border trains, so the diplomats made a trolley dash to the border

Russian diplomats and their family members use a hand-pushed rail trolley to leave North Korea. Reuters

Eight Russian diplomats and their family members, the youngest among them a three-year-old girl, left North Korea on a hand-pushed rail trolley because of Pyongyang's coronavirus restrictions.

A video posted on the Russian Foreign Ministry's Telegram account showed how the trolley, laden with suitcases, was pushed across a border railway bridge by Third Secretary Vladislav Sorokin.

The group waved and cheered as they approached their homeland, the culmination of an expedition that began with a 32-hour train journey from Pyongyang, followed by a two-hour bus ride to the border.

"It took a long and difficult journey to get home," the ministry said in the post late on Thursday.

"Finally, the most important part of the route – walking on foot to the Russian side," it said.

"To do this, you need to make a trolley in advance, put it on the rails, place things on it, seat the children – and go."

It said Mr Sorokin, the only man in the group, was "the main 'engine' of the non-self-propelled railcar" and had to push it for more than a kilometre.

Russian diplomats and their families use a hand-pushed rail trolley to leave North Korea. Reuters

Once in Russian territory they were met by ministry colleagues and taken by bus to Vladivostok airport.

"Don't leave your own behind", the ministry said as a hashtag.

North Korea closed its borders in January last year to try to protect itself from the spread of the coronavirus.

All flights and cross-border trains were cancelled.

With staff and supplies unable to enter, the restrictions severely hampered the activities of diplomats and aid workers, and several western embassies recalled their entire staff.

But Russia has close relations with North Korea and maintains a significant diplomatic presence. Moscow still has a grand embassy in central Pyongyang, close to the North Korean leadership compound.

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Coronavirus in North Korea

A staff member, left, of the Pongnam Noodle House checks the body temperature of a woman coming into its restaurant in Pyongyang, North Korea. AP Photo

Staff of the Pongnam Noodle House disinfect the tables and windows of the restaurant in Pyongyang. AP Photo

A man of the Hygienic and Anti-epidemic Center in Phyongchon District disinfects a corridor of a building in Pyongyang. AP Photo

An employee sprays sanitiser at the Pyongyang Dental Hygiene Products Factory in Pyongyang. Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) / AFP

Shoppers receive hand sanitizer as they enter the Pyongyang Department Store No. 1, in Pyongyang. AFP

Two women sit in a park in front of the Grand People's Study House in Pyongyang. AFP

A customer receives beauty treatments at the Changgwang Health Complex in Pyongyang. AFP

A man washes his hands at a hand-washing station outside a subway train station in Pyongyang. AFP

A public security officer uses a red flag to stop a taxi for disinfection on a road at the entrance to Wonsan, Kangwon Province. AFP

Primary school children attend a class at Hasin Primary School in Sosong District in Pyongyang. AFP

Students attend a lecture at the Pyongyang University of Medicine in Pyongyang. AFP

A worker checks bottles of new disinfectant products on a production line at the Ryongaksan Soap Factory in Pyongyang. AFP