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Had the COVID-19 pandemic not closed its borders, diplomats would normally have completed their service in the host country with a formal farewell and a convenient trip back to their home country. However, a group of Russian diplomats and their families had to leave North Korea by an unusual route: a self-propelled wheelchair on rails.
A video released by the Russian Foreign Ministry shows well-meaning Russians pushing their belongings over a railway bridge built over the Tumanay River between Russia and North Korea.
The ministry also circulated a photo of suitcases being pushed during a winter in North Korea.
Photo from the Russian Foreign Ministry / Russian diplomats leave North Korea in a wheelchair
Otherwise, the diplomats and their families could not leave North Korea due to this state. closed its borders at the beginning of the pandemic and prohibited international flights, train connections.
The country governed by the dictator still assures (although few believe) that no cases of COVID-19 have been reported.
“As the borders have been closed for more than a year and passenger traffic has been suspended, the journey home has been long and difficult,” the Russian ministry wrote, posting photos and videos.
In all, a group of eight people returned to Russia, including a three-year-old boy. Every Thursday, they would arrive at the Russian border from Pyongyang at 32 pm by train and another two hours by bus. The last short section was transported by tram, and already on the Russian side, the diplomats were greeted by officials who took them to Vladivostok airport.
Sorokin, the only man in the group, became “the” main engine “of the non-self-propelled car, the ministry said, adding that the diplomat had to push the platform more than a kilometer.
In South Korea, commentators mockingly commented on the news of an eccentric trip home by a group of Russian diplomats.
“I’m glad I wasn’t born in North Korea,” wrote one of them on South Korea’s largest news portal Naver. Another joked: “Please return the cart you took it from.”
What is the border between Russia and North Korea like?
Russia has only 17 km of a common border with a country ruled by Kim Jong Un. This is the shortest international border in Russia.
The two countries are connected by the Korea-Russia Friendship Bridge (Druzhny Bridge), which is run by railroad tracks.
From Russia in 2013 Google Maps allowed the car to get close enough to the border and you could see what Lineinajos Street looked like on the outskirts of North Korea.
With the Street View tool, you can “zoom in” so close to the border that you can see a little of the Tumanaya River, which runs between the two countries. You can also see two towers on the North Korean side, one with a curved roof and the other reminiscent of a control tower.
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