Transport in North Korea is constrained by economic problems and government restrictions.

Public transport Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...

predominates, and most of it is electrified.

Restrictions on freedom of movement

Travel to North Korea is tightly controlled. The standard route to and from

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

is by plane or train via

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

. Transport directly to and from

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

was possible on a limited scale from 2003 until 2008, when a road was opened (bus tours, no private cars).

Freedom of movement Freedom of movement, mobility rights, or the right to travel is a human rights concept encompassing the right of individuals to travel from place to place within the territory of a country,Jérémiee Gilbert, ''Nomadic Peoples and Human Rights' ...

in North Korea is also limited, as citizens are not allowed to move around freely inside their country. On October 14, 2018, North and South Korea agreed to restore inter-Korean rail and road transportation. On November 22, 2018, North and South Korea reopened a road on the Korean border which had been closed since 2004. On November 30, 2018, inter-Korean rail transportation resumed when a South Korean train crossed into North Korea for the first time since November 2008. On December 8, 2018, a South Korean bus crossed into North Korea.

Roads

Fuel constraints and the near absence of private automobiles have relegated road transportation to a secondary role. The road network was estimated to be around in 1999, up from between and in 1990, of which only , 7.5%, are paved. However, ''

The World Factbook ''The World Factbook'', also known as the ''CIA World Factbook'', is a reference resource produced by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) with almanac-style information about the countries of the world. The official print version is available ...

'' (published by the US

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

) lists of roads with only paved as of 2006. There are three major multilane highways in North Korea: the

Pyongyang–Wonsan Tourist Motorway The Pyongyang–Wonsan Tourist Motorway () is a in North Korea that connects the cities of Pyongyang, the capital of the country, and Wonsan, a city on the coast of the Sea of Japan in the province of Kangwon. The expressway opened in 1978. The ...

, a expressway connecting

Pyongyang Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 populatio ...

and

Wonsan Wŏnsan (), previously known as Wŏnsanjin (), Port Lazarev, and Genzan (), is a port city and naval base located in Kangwŏn Province, North Korea, along the eastern side of the Korean Peninsula, on the Sea of Japan and the provincial capital. ...

on the east coast, the

Youth Hero Motorway The Youth Hero Motorway (), also known as the Pyongyang–Nampo Motorway, is a expressway in North Korea that connects the cities of Pyongyang, the capital of the country, and Nampo, a city on the coast of Korea Bay in South Pyongan Province. ...

, a expressway connecting Pyongyang and its port,

Nampo Nampo (North Korean official spelling: Nampho; ), also spelled Namp'o, is the second largest city by population and an important seaport in North Korea, which lies on the northern shore of the Taedong River, 15 km east of the river's mouth. ...

, and the

Pyongyang-Kaesong Motorway The Reunification Highway, officially known as the Pyongyang-Kaesong Motorway (), is a controlled-access highway in North Korea. It connects the capital Pyongyang to the Joint Security Area at the Korean Demilitarized Zone via Sariwon and Kaesong. ...

, a four-lane motorway linking Pyongyang and

Kaesong Kaesong (, ) is a special city in the southern part of North Korea (formerly in North Hwanghae Province), and the capital of Korea during the Taebong kingdom and subsequent Goryeo dynasty. The city is near the Kaesong Industrial Region close t ...

. The overwhelming majority of the estimated 264,000 vehicles in use in 1990 were for the military. Rural bus service connects all villages, and all major cities have bus and tram services. Since 1945/1946, there is

right-hand traffic Left-hand traffic (LHT) and right-hand traffic (RHT) are the practices, in bidirectional traffic, of keeping to the left side or to the right side of the road, respectively. They are fundamental to traffic flow, and are sometimes referred to ...

on roads. In cities, driving speeds are set by which lane a driver is in. The speed limits are , , and for the first, second, and subsequent (if existing) lanes ''from the right'', respectively. A white-on-blue sign informs about this. The leftmost lane, if it is number 3 from the right or higher and is not a turning lane, is often left vacant, even by tourist buses, while the second-from-right lane is generally used to overtake vehicles from lane one, such as public transport buses and trams. Besides the blue in-city sign, all other occasions, such as motorways and roads outside cities, use the more widely known red-circle-with-number-inside sign to post speed limits. On motorways, the typical limit is and for lanes from the right, respectively, as posted on the Pyongyang-Kaesong highway, for example. The rightmost lane of a motorway is sometimes, as seen on the Pyongyang–Myohyang highway, limited to near on-ramp joining points. Automobile transportation is further restricted by a series of regulations. According to North Korean exile Kim Ji-ho, unless a civilian driver receives a special permit, it is forbidden to drive alone (the driver must carry passengers). Other civilian permits are a military mobilization permit (to transport soldiers in times of war), a certificate of driver training (to be renewed every year), a fuel validity document (a certificate confirming that the fuel was purchased from an authorized source), and a mechanical certificate (to prove that the car is in working order). Since about 2014, horizontally-mounted traffic lights and cameras have been installed in central Pyongyang and other cities. Outside Pyongyang,

roundabout A roundabout is a type of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junction.''The New Shorter Oxford En ...

s are often used on busy junctions. As of 2017,

electric bicycle An electric bicycle (e-bike, eBike, etc.) is a motorized bicycle with an integrated electric motor used to assist propulsion. Many kinds of e-bikes are available worldwide, but they generally fall into two broad categories: bikes that assis ...

s are becoming popular in

; about 5% of bicycles are electric. Both locally produced and Chinese electric bicycles were available. As of 2016 there is of road which is 25% of South Korea's road system in length. File:DPRK Highway.jpg, A highway outside of Pyongyang File:Roadworks in North Korea.jpg, Roadwork construction in North Korea. The blue truck in the foreground is a Chinese-made

Dongfeng Dongfeng is the romanization of several Chinese names of which most notably "East Wind" (); it may refer to: People's Republic of China * Dongfeng (missile) (), series of ballistic missiles of the People's Liberation Army * Chinese series of dies ...

. File:Laika ac Pyongyang (7978789043).jpg, A road junction in Pyongyang File:Pyongyang side street.JPG, A side road in Kaesong

Public transport

There is a mix of locally built and imported trolleybuses and trams in the major urban centres of North Korea. Earlier fleets were obtained from Europe and China. For the list of trolleybus systems in North Korea, see this

list A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: People * List (surname) Organizations * List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America * SC Germania List, German rugby union ...

. Other forms of public transport include a commuters' narrow gauge railway from

Hamhung Hamhŭng (''Hamhŭng-si''; ) is North Korea's second-largest List of cities in North Korea, city, and the capital of South Hamgyong, South Hamgyŏng Province. It has an estimated population of 768,551. Located in the southern part of the South Ham ...

to Hungnam which links to the 2.8 Vinylon Complex. North Korea also has regularly scheduled motorcoach service connecting major cities and nearby towns to one another, which can be identified by their destination signs. For example Pyongyang-Sariwon, or Pyongyang-Wonsan. Some bus lines supplement the electric transportation in Pyongyang, as seen in a 1989 map that was likely obtained during the 13th World Festival of Youth and Students. Some routes are still identifiable, such as the route 10, which now has a destination of Sadong-Daedongmun, and has its own stop on Okryu street. Some parts have changed much more drastically, like the southwest of Pyongyang, which has seen a lot of new construction. One thing that makes tracing the routes difficult is that all kinds of transportation vehicles in North Korea rarely show a route number, opting for a destination sign instead. Some buses may be used for non-regularly scheduled service, but are indistinguishable because all the buses are state owned and can be used for a variety of purposes. File:DPRK trolley.jpg, Pyongyang tram in 2009 Image:In front of Pyongyang Station DPRK.jpg, Trolleybus near Pyongyang Railway Station in 2007 File:Tram North Korea PY.jpg, Former Zurich type Be 4/4 tram on the Kumsusan Memorial Palace line File:Pyongyang bus.jpg, A Pyongyang Trolleybus Works Chongnyonjunwi File:Proton Wira taxi in Pyongyang, North Korea.jpg, A

Proton Wira The Proton Wira (Malay, "hero") is a car manufactured by Malaysian carmaker Proton from 1993 to 2009. It was produced in four-door saloon and five-door hatchback models, and is based on the Mitsubishi Lancer platform. History Development of ...

yellow taxi in Pyongyang.

Railways

The

Korean State Railway The Korean State Railway (), commonly called the State Rail () is the operating arm of the Ministry of Railways of North Korea and has its headquarters at P'yŏngyang. The current Minister of Railways is Chang Jun Song. History 1945–195 ...

is the only rail operator in North Korea. It has a network of over of standard gauge and of narrow gauge () lines; as of 2007, over of the standard gauge (well over 80%), along with of the narrow gauge lines are electrified.Kokubu, Hayato, 将軍様の鉄道 (Shōgun-sama no Tetsudō), The narrow gauge segment runs in the Haeju peninsula. Because of lack of maintenance on the rail infrastructure and vehicles, the travel time by rail is increasing. It has been reported that the trip from Pyongyang to

can take up to six hours.

Water transport

Water transport on the major rivers and along the coasts plays a growing role in freight and passenger traffic. Except for the

Yalu The Yalu River, known by Koreans as the Amrok River or Amnok River, is a river on the border between North Korea and China. Together with the Tumen River to its east, and a small portion of Paektu Mountain, the Yalu forms the border between ...

and

Taedong Taedong County is a ''kun'' (county) in South P'yŏngan province, North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Pen ...

rivers, most of the inland waterways, totaling , are navigable only by small

boat A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size, shape, cargo or passenger capacity, or its ability to carry boats. Small boats are typically found on inl ...

s. Coastal traffic is heaviest on the eastern seaboard, whose deeper waters can accommodate larger

vessels Vessel(s) or The Vessel may refer to: Biology *Blood vessel, a part of the circulatory system and function to transport blood throughout the body *Lymphatic vessel, a thin walled, valved structure that carries lymph *Vessel element, a narrow wat ...

. The major

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

s are

on the west coast and Rajin,

Chongjin Chŏngjin (; ) is the capital of North Korea's North Hamgyong Province (함경북도) and the country's third largest city. It is sometimes called the ''City of Iron''. History Prehistory According to archaeological findings near the lower ...

, and

on the east coast. The country's harbor loading capacity in the 1990s was estimated at almost 35 million tons a year. There is a continuing investment in upgrading and expanding port facilities, developing transportation—particularly on the Taedong River—and increasing the share of international cargo by domestic vessels.

List of ports in North Korea

Haeju Haeju () is a city located in South Hwanghae Province near Haeju Bay in North Korea. It is the administrative centre of South Hwanghae Province. As of 2008, the population of the city is estimated to be 273,300. At the beginning of the 20th century ...

Kimchaek Kimch'aek (), formerly Sŏngjin (Chosŏn'gŭl: 성진, Hancha: 城津), is a city in North Hamgyong Province, North Korea. It was an open port in 1899. It has a population of 207,699. Etymology The city received its current name in 1951 durin ...

Rasŏn Rason (formerly Rajin-Sŏnbong; ) is a North Korean Special cities of North Korea, special city and Port#Warm-water port, ice-free port in the Sea of Japan in the North Pacific Ocean on the northeast tip of North Korea. It is in the Kwanbuk regi ...

Sinuiju Sinŭiju (''Sinŭiju-si'', ; known before 1925 in English as Yeng Byen City) is a city in North Korea which faces Dandong, Liaoning, China across the international border of the Yalu River. It is the capital of North P'yŏngan province. Part of ...

Sonbong Sonbong County, formerly called Unggi (Chosŏn'gŭl: 웅기, Hancha: 雄基), is a subdivision of the North Korean city of Rason. It is located at the northeastern extreme of North Korea, bordering Russia and China. It lies on Unggi Bay, an extensi ...

(formerly Unggi) *

Songnim Songrim () is a city on the Taedong River in North Hwanghae Province, North Korea. It had a population of 128,831 in 2008. Administrative divisions Songrim is divided into 19 '' tong'' (neighbourhoods) and 6 '' ri'' (villages): * Chŏn-dong ...

*Ungsang *

Merchant marine

In the early 1990s, North Korea possessed an oceangoing merchant fleet, largely domestically produced, of 68 ships (of at least 1,000 gross-registered tons), totalling 465,801 gross-registered tons (), which included 58 cargo ships and two tankers. As of 2008, this has increased to a total of 167 vessels consisting mainly of cargo and tanker ships.

Ferry Service

North Korea maintains the ''

Man Gyong Bong 92 The ''Man Gyong Bong 92'' is a cargo-passenger ferry, named after a hill near Pyongyang. The ferry was built in 1992 with funds from Chongryon, the pro-North Korean General Association of Korean Residents in Japan, and was used to transport passe ...

'', a

ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...

connecting Rajin and

Vladivostok Vladivostok ( rus, Владивосто́к, a=Владивосток.ogg, p=vɫədʲɪvɐˈstok) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai, Russia. The city is located around the Zolotoy Rog, Golden Horn Bay on the Sea ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

Air transport

North Korea's international air connections are limited in frequency and numbers. Fourth ed. Washington: Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress. . As of 2011, scheduled flights operate only from Pyongyang's

Pyongyang Sunan International Airport Pyongyang International Airport () , also known as the Pyongyang Sunan International Airport, is the main airport serving Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea. It is located in the city's Sunan District. and the only two foreign countries se ...

Dalian Dalian () is a major sub-provincial port city in Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, and is Liaoning's second largest city (after the provincial capital Shenyang) and the third-most populous city of Northeast China. Located on the ...

Shenyang Shenyang (, ; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ), formerly known as Fengtian () or by its Manchu language, Manchu name Mukden, is a major China, Chinese sub-provincial city and the List of capitals in China#Province capitals, provincial capital of Lia ...

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

Khabarovsk Khabarovsk ( rus, Хабaровск, a=Хабаровск.ogg, r=Habárovsk, p=xɐˈbarəfsk) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative centre of Khabarovsk Krai, Russia,Law #109 located from the China ...

, and

Kuwait International Airport Kuwait International Airport ( ar, مطار الكويت الدولي, ) is an international airport located in the Farwaniya Governorate, Kuwait, south of the centre of Kuwait City, spread over an area of . It serves as the primary hub for Kuw ...

. Charters to other destinations operate as per demand. Prior to 1995, many routes to Eastern Europe were operated including services to Sofia, Belgrade, Prague, and Budapest, along with others.

Air Koryo Air Koryo () is the state-owned national airline of North Korea, headquartered in Sunan-guyŏk, Pyongyang. Based at Pyongyang International Airport (IATA: FNJ), it operates international scheduled and charter services to points in Asia. Histo ...

is the country's national airline. ,

Air China Air China Limited () is the flag carrier of the People's Republic of China and one of the "Big Three" mainland Chinese airlines (alongside China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines). Air China's headquarters are in Shunyi District, ...

also operates flights between Beijing and Pyongyang. In 2013,

MIAT Mongolian Airlines MIAT (Mongolyn Irgenii Agaaryn Teever (Монголын Иргэний Агаарын Тээвэр , Mongolian Civil Air Transport)) Mongolian Airlines, ; "Mongolian Civil Air Transport" is the national airline of Mongolia, headquartered in the ...

began operating direct charter services from Ulaanbattar to Pyongyang with Boeing 737-800 aircraft. Internal flights are available between

(HAE),

Hungnam Hŭngnam is a district of Hamhung, the second largest city in North Korea. It is a port city on the eastern coast on the Sea of Japan. It is only from the slightly inland city of Hamhung. In 2005 it became a ward of Hamhung. History The port ...

(HGM),

(KSN),

Kanggye Kanggye () is the provincial capital of Chagang, North Korea and has a population of 251,971. Because of its strategic importance, derived from its topography, it has been of military interest from the time of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910). Hist ...

Kilju Kilju () is the Finnish word for fermented water. It is made of sugar, yeast, and water. Historically, it was called sugar wine. It often has additives such as citrus fruits, apples, berry juices, or artificial flavorings for legal reasons. ...

Najin Rajin-guyŏk () is a North Korean district on Rason in the Sea of Japan (East Sea of Korea) in the North Pacific Ocean on the northeast tip of North Korea. It is in the Kwanbuk region and location in the south of Rason. North of it lies the North ...

(NJN),

(NAM),

(SII),

Samjiyon Samjiyŏn is a city in Ryanggang Province, North Korea. It takes its name from three lakes in the city, which are collectively known as the Samjiyŏn. Samjiyŏn is situated near Mount Paektu, and tour groups fly to the city's airport to see th ...

(WON),

Songjin Kimch'aek (), formerly Sŏngjin (Chosŏn'gŭl: 성진, Hancha: 城津), is a city in North Hamgyong Province, North Korea. It was an open port in 1899. It has a population of 207,699. Etymology The city received its current name in 1951 during ...

(SON), and

(CHO). All civil aircraft are operated by

, which has a fleet of 19 passenger and cargo aircraft, all of which are Soviet or more modern Russian types. As of 2013, the

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...

estimates that North Korea has 82 usable airports, 39 of which have permanent-surface runways. It was reported that North Korean air traffic controllers had been cut off from the international global satellite communications network in 2017 because North Korea had not made the required payments. Traffic controllers at

had to use conventional telephone lines to inform their counterparts at

Incheon International Airport Incheon International Airport (IIA; ) (sometimes referred to as Seoul–Incheon International Airport) is the largest airport in South Korea. It is the primary airport serving the Seoul Capital Area and one of the largest and busiest airports ...

that the flight containing North Korean delegates to the

2018 Winter Olympic Games , nations = 93 , athletes = 2,922 (1,680 men and 1,242 women) , events = 102 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = , closing = , opened_by = President Moon Jae-in , cauldron = Kim Yun-a , stadium = Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium , winte ...

in South Korea had taken off.

Vehicle markings

Road vehicles in North Korea bear distance stars. These are paint markings which display how far the particular vehicle has traveled without incident. Each star represents travelled without an accident. The DPRK

license plate A vehicle registration plate, also known as a number plate (British English), license plate (American English), or licence plate ( Canadian English), is a metal or plastic plate attached to a motor vehicle or trailer for official identificati ...

background color denotes the vehicle type; * Blue - Government issued vehicle * Black - Military vehicle * Yellow - Private vehicle - permitted persons who have contributed greatly to DPRK * Green -Diplomatic * Red - Non-governmental Organizations (NGO)

References

External links

Air Koryo official website

Pyongyang metro unofficial website
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Transport In North Korea