North Korea airline plans new China charter flights amid thaw in diplomatic ties
Air Koryo wants to launch service between Pyongyang and Chengdu, say airline officials
North Korea’s Air Koryo plans to launch charter flights between Pyongyang and Chengdu in southwest China, two airline officials told Reuters, amid a major improvement in diplomatic relations between the neighbours.
The flights to Chengdu, one of the biggest cities in China’s vast western region, could start as early as late June if approved by China’s aviation regulator, the officials said, on condition of anonymity.
“At the moment this is still a plan. Whether it can actually take off will be impacted by the policy environment going forward,” said one of the officials, who said an application to the regulator had not yet been submitted.
“Now perhaps it’s Chengdu, afterwards could be Dalian, Guangzhou. If there’s a market we’ll fly, if not we won’t,” he said, noting Chinese travel agencies were involved with marketing the flights to potential customers.
China has traditionally been politically isolated North Korea’s closest ally, but ties have been frayed by Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons programme and Beijing’s backing of tough UN sanctions in response.
