North Korea appears to be examining the technologies and operating model used by China to modernise its rail and metro networks. North Korean Prime Minister Pak Thae Song visited the urban rail transport control centre in Beijing and requested information on network design and inter-line transfer systems.
The visit took place during the North Korean Prime Minister’s official trip to China between 10 and 12 July, according to NK News, which cites footage and information broadcast by the Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.
Pak Thae Song met in Beijing with Chinese Premier Li Qiang and President Xi Jinping, as part of the celebrations marking the 65th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance between China and North Korea.
Questions about the network’s design and passenger transfers
A less publicised part of the programme was the visit to the Beijing Rail Transport Command Centre, the body that coordinates the Chinese capital’s urban metro and suburban rail network.
According to CCTV, the North Korean official sought detailed explanations about interline transfer systems and how the urban rail network is designed.
Chinese television reported that the Prime Minister examined the underground infrastructure and the modern operating model used in Beijing.
The Chinese capital’s urban rail network is nearly 1,000 km long, making it one of the most extensive in the world.
A railway infrastructure lagging behind
North Korea’s interest in Chinese technology comes against a backdrop where the country’s railway network is considered outdated and insufficiently modernised.
Much of the infrastructure was rebuilt after the Korean War, with support from China and other socialist states. Since then, however, investment and modernisation work have been limited.
Russia’s state-owned railway company, RZD, has also previously expressed an interest in modernising North Korea’s railways. As early as 2015, company representatives described the network as failing to meet modern standards.
In 2018, China and South Korea explored the possibility of building a rail link through the North Korean city of Sinuiju, but the project stalled following the deterioration of relations between Seoul and Pyongyang.
The Pyongyang Metro still uses trains from Berlin
The North Korean capital has a two-line metro network, which opened in 1973.
In recent years, the authorities have also introduced trains manufactured in North Korea, but a significant proportion of the service is still operated using former Berlin Metro trains.
The German trains, originating from both West Berlin and the former East Germany, were purchased in the late 1990s. They replaced some of the Chinese DK4 trains that had been in use since the metro’s early years.
The former Berlin trains have since become one of the iconic symbols of public transport in Pyongyang.
Sanctions may block technology transfer
Any potential railway cooperation between China and North Korea could run up against the international sanctions imposed on Pyongyang.
UN Security Council Resolution 2397 prohibits member states from supplying North Korea with transport vehicles, including trains and associated components.
In these circumstances, the visit to Beijing suggests an interest in the Chinese model of organisation and operation rather than the existence of a specific project or a contract for the delivery of trains.
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