North Korea's national airline, Air Koryo is all set to resume flights to China after a nod of approval from the Chinese foreign ministry. However, details about the resumption of flights or frequency are not yet out. Flights between the two countries were suspended in early 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic as both shut down borders to other countries. Previously, Air Koryo and Chinese state airline Air China flew routes between the two countries.
China is North Korea’s biggest trade partner and neighbour. Last month, a Chinese delegation visited Pyongyang to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the end of the Korean War, the first to visit the reclusive state since the pandemic.
Going ahead, Air Koryo, is also resuming its nonstop services connecting Pyongyang Sunan International Airport (FNJ) and Vladivostok (VVO), on Russia’s Primorsky Krai, CNN reports. The new airlink will reportedly operate twice in each direction on August 23 and 28, 2023.
However, there is no news of the services resuming permanently as of now.
Direct flights between the North Korean capital and Vladivostok were operated prior to the COVID-19 pandemic but were discontinued in 2020 when North Korea went into total isolation, cutting off its already limited contact with the outside world.
Air Koryo operates a mix of legacy Soviet-made airliners, including the Tupolev Tu-134, the Tu-154 and Tu-204, and Ilyushin Il-18D, Il-62M and Antonov An-148 aircraft.