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Russia will send its first train along a newly repaired railway line to North Korea next month, Moscow's railway monopoly said, reported Reuters.
The link with Russia offers North Korea at least the prospect of increasing trade with its biggest neighbours after years of international sanctions.
Russian Railways has been renovating the 54km rail line from Russia's eastern border town of Khasan to the North Korean port of Rajin as part of an agreement reached during North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's 2001 visit to Russia.
"The first demonstration train will go along the line in October," a spokesman for Russian Railways said.
Russian Railways has also been building a container terminal in Rajin, which is one of the main centres of North Korea's Rason Special Economic Zone.
It said the railway and container terminal, built by a joint venture called Rasonkontrans, would be used to export Russian coal and to import goods from South Korea and other Asian countries.
The railway and container terminal will work at 35 percent capacity, or about 70,000 TEUs, in 2011, rising to 140,000 TEUs in 2012 and to full capacity of 200,000 TEUs in 2013, Russian Railways said. Cargonews Asia
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