GOH CHAI HIN/AFP/Getty Images(VLADIVOSTOK, Russia) — North Korea is set to launch a ferry service that will transport passengers back and forth to Russia, BBC News reports.
A passenger vessel, called Mangyongbong, docked for the first time in the Russian port of Vladivostok, where it will continue to travel on a weekly basis, carrying cargo and up to 200 passengers at a time.
Despite UN sanctions ristricting North Korea due to it’s nuclear program, it’s expected that Chinese tourists will likely use the ferry service — which boasts a restaurant, bars and a karaoke room — to travel between North Korea and Russia, according to BBC News. One Chinese tour operator has already sent some of its staff on Mangyongbong’s inaugural journey.
On the other end, Russian freight shipping company InvestStroiTrest will operate the ferry from North Korean port city of Rajin.
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