Russia has launched direct passenger flights between Moscow and North Korea’s capital, Pyongyang, marking a significant step in strengthening bilateral relations following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The first flight left Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport at 7 p.m. local time on Sunday in a Boeing 777-200ER with 440 seats for passengers. Ticket prices started at 44,700 roubles ($563), and the flight was sold out almost at once, Russia’s RIA state news agency reported.
This is the first direct air connection between the two capitals since the mid-1990s. Russia’s civil aviation agency Rosaviatsia has licensed Nordwind Airlines to operate the route twice a week, though the transport ministry announced flights would initially operate monthly to allow for stable demand.
The move comes after the recent restart of the 10-day Moscow-Pyongyang passenger train service in June, another indicator of growing ties between the two countries, both increasingly isolated from the West.
There has so far only been Air Koryo’s three-times-a-week route between Pyongyang and Vladivostok in Russia’s Far East.
While the Western world and Ukraine have accused North Korea of providing weapons and ammunition, including ballistic missiles, to assist in Russia’s war in Ukraine, Moscow and Pyongyang have both refuted these allegations. Nevertheless, North Korea has been said to have dispatched more than 10,000 soldiers and sent military support to assist in Russia’s campaign.
Last week, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un reaffirmed his nation’s strong solidarity with Russia, vowing to “unconditionally support” Moscow’s initiatives in ending the current conflict.
The new air connection is viewed as a symbolic and strategic gesture to reinforce the alliance of the two nations amid growing international sanctions and geopolitical tensions.
