The service will be open to Chinese people working and studying in North Korea, as well as North Koreans working, studying and visiting family abroad, according travel agents for official ticketing booths in Beijing and Dandong.

Tourists will not yet be eligible to buy tickets.

"It's great to see the international train service resuming," Rowan Beard, tours manager at Young Pioneer Tours, told AFP on Tuesday.

He confirmed his company, one of several firms that specialise in travel to North Korea, would also be able to book tickets running from Thursday.

"While it isn't initially intended for tourists, it will provide another travel option once tourism to North Korea eventually returns, serving as an alternative to flying."

Train journeys between the two countries were halted in 2020 as they imposed strict measures against the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Last year, direct flights and train services resumed between North Korea and Russia, as the two have pulled closer since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine.