Tuesday saw the arrival of North Korea’s first overseas commercial flight in three years, according to an arrivals board that an AFP correspondent saw at the airport.
The board said that Air Koryo aircraft JS151 should have touched down at Beijing Capital Airport about 9:17 a.m. (0117 GMT).
Since North Korea closed its borders in reaction to the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020, Air Koryo has not operated a commercial flight.
According to Flightradar24 and the Chinese monitoring software Umetrip, it took off from the North Korean capital at approximately 8:00 am local time (2330 GMT).
An Air Koryo representative who was asked for comment at the company’s Beijing office stated that he had “no information” to provide.
Air Koryo abruptly canceled a previously booked flight to Beijing on Monday without providing a formal explanation.
Since early 2020, when North Korea closed its borders in reaction to the Covid-19 pandemic, the country has been largely cut off from the outside world.
However, there are more and more indications Pyongyang may be loosening up on border controls after three years of isolation brought on by Covid.
The first foreign dignitaries to visit North Korea in years, Chinese and Russian officials witnessed a military parade in the country’s capital last month.
Additionally, Pyongyang permitted a team of athletes to travel to Kazakhstan last week to compete in taekwondo.
professional website Air Koryo was scheduled to operate two flights from Vladivostok, Russia, to Pyongyang on Friday and next Monday, according to NK News on Monday.
