[3] The entirety of the North Korean section of the line is located in Sŏnbong of Rasŏn Special City.

The station at Khasan was opened on 28 September 1951, and in 1952 a wooden railway bridge was built across the Tumen River to Tumangang in North Korea.

The main imports from Russia are timber and crude oil; the main exports are magnesite, steel, fertiliser, non-ferrous metals and non-ferrous metal concentrates,[2] but since the collapse of the Soviet Union freight traffic has dropped significantly.

However, with the renovation and conversion to dual Russian and standard gauge of the 32 km line between Tumangang and Rajin, which includes the entirety of this line, together with the redevelopment of Rajin's port facilities to serve as a gateway to the Trans-Eurasian railway linking Korea to Europe by land, freight traffic is expected to increase significantly in the future.

[6] The international express train 7/8 that operates between P'yŏngyang and Moscow runs on this line between Hongŭi and Tumangang before crossing the border into Russia.