Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported Thursday that Air Koryo, North Korea’s elite air carrier, traveled to Moscow at the end of August.
According to flight tracking data from FlightRadar 24, Air Koryo flight P-881 departed Pyongyang on August 29 and landed in Moscow. The flight then took off from Moscow at 8:48 AM on August 31.
The Ilyushin-62M aircraft is the model North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui used during her visit to Moscow in January. This raises speculation that another high-ranking North Korean official may have traveled to Moscow recently.
The only flight route between North Korea and Russia is from Pyongyang to Vladivostok.
In January, a North Korean delegation, led by Foreign Minister Choe, used the same aircraft model to visit Russia and meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.