AP
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Russia opened regular air links between Moscow and Pyogyan on Sunday. This is a movement that reflects increasingly close ties between the two countries.
The first flight, run by Russian airline Nordwind, took off from Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport, which has more than 400 passengers. Russia’s Ministry of Transport said there is a flight once a month to meet demand.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who visited North Korea’s new Wonsan Karma Beach Resort earlier this month to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, has pledged to encourage Russian tourists to visit the complex.
The resort, which can accommodate around 20,000 people, is at the heart of Kim’s push to boost tourism to improve his country’s troubled economy.
North Korea is slowly easing curbs imposed during the pandemic and is gradually reopening its borders. However, the country has not said whether it will fully resume international tourism.
After a break due to the coronavirus pandemic, regular flights between Russia’s eastern port cities Vladivostok and Pyongyang resumed in 2023.
Russia and North Korea have expanded military and other ties in recent years, with Pyongyang supplying weapons and troops to support Russia’s military action in Ukraine.
