Dhaka, March 13 -- A passenger train from China arrived in Pyongyang on Thursday, March 12, marking the resumption of a cross-border rail service that had been suspended for nearly six years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The train departed from the northeastern Chinese border city of Dandong and reached the North Korean capital later in the evening, according to Chinese state media reports.

Rail links between the two neighbors were halted in 2020 after North Korea imposed strict border closures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. The suspension disrupted one of the few international transport connections available to the isolated country.

China is North Korea's largest trading partner and a major source of diplomatic, economic, a...