Passenger Ferry Linking North Korea With Russia Completes First Trip

The first passenger ferry arrived Thursday from North Korean port city of Rason to Russia's Vladivostok on a route linking the countries, a representative of the carrier company, Russia's InvestStroiTrest, told Sputnik.

VLADIVOSTOK (Sputnik) — According to InvestStroiTrest's Deputy Director Mikhail Khmel, the vessel left Rason Wednesday evening with representatives of Chinese travel agencies and Russian citizens to check the route, while tourists are expected to travel on the route starting from the next week.

"The vessel arrived in the morning to Vladivostok Sea Passenger Terminal," the representative said.

The same day Japan expressed concern following the launch of a ferry service between North Korea and Russia. According to Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, Tokyo will closely monitor the influence of the passenger route between the states on the international efforts to tackle North Korean nuclear threat.

In April, a representative of Russia's InvestStroiTrest company told Sputnik that the Mangyongbong-92 ferry would run between Vladivostok and Rason since May with approximately six trips a month. At first, the company plans to transport Chinese tourists from China's Hunchun, as well as Russian tourists, to North Korea with a ticket price worth nearly 550 yuan ($80), he added.

Passenger ferries have never run between Russia and North Korea before. The North Korean city of Rason, bordering Russia's Primorsky Territory and China's Jilin province holds a status of a special economic zone and possesses a warm water port.