North Korea cancels 1st post-covid international commercial flight

North Korea canceled on Sunday (20.Aug.2023) the 1st international commercial trip since 2020, when the covid-19 pandemic began. The flight would be operated by the state airline Air Koryo and would depart from the North Korean capital Pyongyang to Beijing, China. The reason for the cancellation was not disclosed. The information is from The Guardian.

The country led by Kim Jong-un closed its borders in early 2020 as a preventive measure against the new coronavirus and also built a wall on the North Korean border with China and Russia.

Air Koryo flight JS151, from Pyongyang, was scheduled to arrive in Beijing on Monday (21.Aug) at 9:50 am local time, or 22:50 on Sunday (20.Aug) at Brasilia time.

After 2 hours of the scheduled arrival time, the arrivals panel showed that the flight was cancelled.

In addition to the trip to Beijing, the North Korean airline’s website has also scheduled a flight to the Russian city of Vladivostok, in the Russian Far East.

The North Korean air opening between China and Russia comes as the antagonistic countries of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un – South Korea, Japan and the United States – hold a summit at the official residence of Camp David, in the United States. At the meeting, the 3 countries reached an agreement to strengthen their security and economic ties.

Among the new guidelines, US President Joe Biden said that nations will create a direct line of communication to discuss responses to threats in the Pacific region, where North Korea has intensified nuclear weapons tests since the 2nd Spring 2022. Read the full “Camp David Principles” (54 KB).