North Korea and Russia have held talks over a “phased restoration” to bilateral trade after it dropped to a fraction of normal levels in 2021, the Russian Ministry for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic (MDFEA) said Tuesday.

The ongoing consultations come as satellite imagery suggests the DPRK has yet to begin using a new rail freight station on its border with Russia that may serve as an import disinfection and quarantine facility, after it began processing shipments from China at an apparently similar facility last month.