A person looks at photos of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, outside of the North Korean Embassy in Moscow, Russia, 30 October 2024. Photo: EPA-EFE/YURI KOCHETKOV

The Russian post office has resumed deliveries of parcels from Russia to North Korea, state-owned news agency TASS reported on Tuesday, quoting the post office’s press department.

Deliveries will take some 15 days, the statement said, with parcels first being sent to the port city of Vladivostok, on the Sea of Japan in Russia’s Far East, and from there on to North Korea.

“North Korea is an important strategic partner for Russia. The area holds promise for various types of business,” the press statement said.

A postal service between North Korea and Russia operated up until 2020. However, the North Korean authorities closed the borders during the coronavirus pandemic, including to mail, in the hope of stopping the virus reaching the country.

Earlier this month, Russian Railways announced that a direct train service linking Moscow and Pyongyang for the first time since 2020 was to restart, as the two countries continue to strengthen bilateral ties. The eight-day, 10,000-kilometre journey will be the world’s longest direct railway route.

Russia has relied on North Korea as a military and strategic partner since the start of the war in Ukraine. Reports first emerged in October that North Korean troops were fighting in Russia’s Kursk region. That month, Russia’s State Duma ratified a comprehensive partnership treaty with Pyongyang. According to the Wall Street Journal, the document contained a secret clause allowing North Korea to send military personnel to the war in Ukraine.