VIDEO: Russian Diplomat Leaves North Korea in Hand-Pushed Rail Wheelchairs

A Russian diplomat and his family are leaving North Korea in hand-pushed rail wheelchairs. The reason: Covid-19 restrictions. This week, eight employees of the Russian embassy in Pyongyang and their families spent over 34 hours trying to leave North Korea. The exhausting journey ended with at least one diplomat having to place his luggage and small children into the rail wheelchair.

It should be noted that North Korea's borders have been closed for several months to combat Covid-19. The state-owned airline, Air Koryo, had been operating flights from Vladivostok in eastern Russia, but those flights were also suspended for several months. This was the only way Russian diplomats and their families could leave the country, the Russian embassy announced on its Facebook page.

The journey began by train. The Russians spent 32 hours in a poorly serviced and slow train. After that, they traveled for two hours by bus to the border, where they boarded the rail wheelchair with their luggage and proceeded to push it all the way to the crossing.

The Russian embassy published two photos of Third Secretary Vladislav Sorokin, showing him pushing the wheelchair containing his family members and belongings. Sorokin had to push the hand wheelchair for one kilometer, part of which included the bridge over the Tyumen River, separating Russia from North Korea. When the family reached the Russian station of Khasan, they were greeted by colleagues from the Foreign Ministry who assisted them in reaching Vladivostok airport.