A new voyage routes linking China's eastern coastal city of Weihai in Shandong and Pyongtaek port in the Republic of Korea (ROK) opened to both passengers and cargo on Saturday.

The route is 243 sea miles' long and three round trips shall be carried out a week, said an official with the Weihai Jiaodong International Container Shipping Company Ltd. which will be in charge of operation of the route.

A 16,000-dwt passenger-cargo vessel with 800 seats and a loading capacity of 200 TEU will leave Weihai at 6 p.m. every Monday, Wednesday and Friday and arrive at Pyongtaek in 14 hours, said the official.

The returning vessel departs form Pyongtaek at 6:00 p.m. every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday.

Four shipping routes are in operation between Weihai and Inchon, Pyongtaek and Kunsan in ROK, since the first started in 1990.

ROK is currently the biggest foreign investor and export market of the Weihai city.

(Xinhua News Agency June 21, 2009)