The Russian Foreign Ministry posted photos of Russian diplomats and their families as they were journeying home from North Korea aboard a hand-pushed trolley on their Twitter account. Based on reports, earlier this week, eight Russian Embassy employees in Pyongyang traveled for more than 34 hours to leave the hermit kingdom.
The embassy stated that the Russian diplomats and their families had to use the railway in traveling due to Pyongyang's COVID-19 travel restrictions. For months now, North Korea has completely closed off its land borders and suspended air travel as part of the Kim Jong Un regime's efforts in keeping the COVID-19 pandemic out of the North's borders. Air Koryo, a North Korean state-owned airline that has flights to Russia, was grounded, and few diplomats were stranded in the rogue nation due to the suspension of air travel.
25 февраля на Родину вернулись 8 россиян-сотрудников российского Посольства в КНДР и членов их семей. Поскольку вот... Posted by Russian Foreign Ministry - МИД России on Thursday, February 25, 2021
According to CNN, the Russian embassy stated that the so-called "labyrinth journey" was the only way for the Russian diplomats and their families to leave North Korea.
The diplomat's journey started by train. They spent at least 32 hours aboard the poorly maintained, old, and slow railway system of the North. After that, they rode a bus for at least two more hours to the Russian border. Upon reaching the border, the Russian diplomats were forced to order a railroad trolley for their luggage and had to push it by hand for the rest of the trip.
The trolley that they ordered is also known as a handcart. It was a railroad car that became popular in the 1800s. The passengers themselves power the cart by manually pushing it or through a pump-action lever.
According to Yahoo! News, the Russian Embassy posted pictures of third secretary Vladislav Sorokin while pushing his family and their luggage. The family was wearing thick clothing amid the rail tracks. The youngest crew aboard the trolley was the secretary's 3-year-old daughter.
The third secretary manually pushed the cart for at least a kilometer. He also had to push through a bridge over the Tumen River, separating North Korea and Russia.
Upon reaching the Russian station of Khasan, the Russian diplomats were welcomed by their colleagues from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Authorities from the ministry helped them reach the airport in Vladivostok.
North Korea Gets Further Isolation
According to the Guardian, Russian diplomats leaving North Korea only mean that Pyongyang's already isolated state is getting even more isolated.
Many Non-Government Organization staff, aid workers, and diplomats have decided to leave the North amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This is because they did not want to risk being stranded inside the North.
Pyongyang has imposed strict border controls and travel restrictions in its attempt to keep COVID-19 out.
In 2020, Kim Jong Un's regime decided to cut almost all of its ties to the outside world in fear of the tragedy that the COVID-19 pandemic could bring. Many experts have stated that the regime's decision is because they have recognized the country's struggle with their dilapidated healthcare.
