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.
Как заявили в МИД, дипломаты 32 часа ехали на поезде, затем еще два часа на автобусе до границы и затем — километр пешком с помощью дрезины.
— Новая Газета (@novaya_gazeta) February 25, 2021
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Видео: МИД России pic.twitter.com/K8UPWUrKev
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.
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
