For only the seventh time this year, Russian workers living in North Korea were allowed to bypass a strict border lockdown and exit the country, according to a report this week from the Russian consulate in Chongjin. It comes as the foreigner community, mostly stationed in Pyongyang, continues to gradually dwindle.

The consulate posted to their Facebook page on Dec. 20 that, with their help, seven Russians were granted special permission to cross into Russia two days earlier via the nearby railway border bridge. They were living and working for the RasonConTrans joint venture in the northeast border zone of Rason.