(Beijing) North Korea’s first international commercial flight in three years arrived in Beijing on Tuesday, with Pyongyang tentatively easing the closure of its borders decided due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
North Korea closed its borders in early 2020 in response to the virus. But in recent weeks, they have subtly opened up on a few occasions.
Chinese and Russian officials attended a large military parade in Pyongyang last month. They were the first foreign dignitaries to visit the country in years.
And last week, a delegation of North Korean athletes was allowed to travel to a taekwondo competition in Kazakhstan.
Flag carrier Air Koryo flight JS151 Pyongyang-Beijing landed at 9:17 a.m. (9:38 p.m. EST) in the Chinese capital, according to an arrivals board, after taking off from the North Korean capital at 8 a.m. a.m. (7:30 p.m. EST).
AFP journalists present at Beijing Capital Airport only saw two North Koreans exiting the arrivals gate. They were recognizable by their badges with the faces of ex-leaders Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il.
One of them is a general, Kim Jin, according to Colin Zwirko, an analyst for the NK News website, which specializes in North Korea news.
Chinese media had introduced Mr. Kim in 2020 as a military attaché at the North Korean embassy in Beijing.
Neither person made a statement to the press.
In the opposite direction, an Air Koryo flight departed from Beijing to Pyongyang around 1 p.m. Chinese time, according to a flight tracking website.
South Korea’s Yonhap news agency published photos of North Koreans checking in their luggage at the airport for the flight.
A representative of Air Koryo, contacted by AFP in the company’s office in Beijing, said on Tuesday that he had “no information” to provide.
An Air Koryo flight, scheduled to land in Beijing on Monday, was abruptly canceled without giving any reason.
Asked about this, a spokesperson for Chinese diplomacy confirmed the resumption of commercial flights between China and North Korea.
“The Chinese side has approved the flight plans of the North Korean company Air Koryo for the Pyongyang-Beijing and Beijing-Pyongyang routes,” Wang Wenbin said Monday at a regular press briefing.
According to NK News, Air Koryo is also planning two flights between Vladivostok, in Russia’s Far East, and Pyongyang next Friday and Monday.