The first direct passenger flight between North Korea’s Pyongyang and Russia’s Moscow landed in Pyongyang on Monday, carrying a Russian delegation.
The Workers’ Party newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, reported on Tuesday that the inaugural flight from Moscow passed through a curtain of water spray before arriving at the terminal of Pyongyang International Airport on Monday.
The newspaper added that the resumption of direct flights between Pyongyang and Moscow coincides with the expanding multifaceted exchanges and contacts between the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and Russia.
The Russian delegation, led by Alexander Kozlov, Minister of Natural Resources and Ecology, was warmly welcomed by North Korean officials with bouquets of flowers upon disembarking.
The first return flight from Pyongyang to Moscow is scheduled for Tuesday. According to the Russian Ministry of Transport, these round-trip flights will operate on a monthly basis.
At the inaugural flight ceremony, Minister Kozlov stated that today, it once again demonstrates that friendly nations are committed to brotherly relations. Further adding that over the past two years, it has made significant efforts to enhance each country’s logistical capabilities.
North Korea’s Minister of Foreign Economic Affairs, Yoon Jung Ho, who greeted Minister Kozlov at the airport, emphasized that the resumption of regular direct flights between Moscow and Pyongyang serves as clear evidence that the friendly relations between the two countries are developing and deepening at the highest level under the special attention of their leaders.
On the same day, North Korea and Russia held a meeting of the Trade, Economic, and Scientific-Technical Cooperation Committee in conjunction with the Russian delegation’s visit.
The meeting included Minister Yoon, Minister Kozlov, and officials from the Russian Embassy in North Korea. Separately, Premier Pak Thae-song met with Minister Kozlov at the Mansudae Assembly Hall.
Practical discussions among officials aimed at strengthening exchanges and cooperation in various fields also took place. In the evening, the Ministry of Foreign Economic Affairs hosted a welcome banquet for the Russian delegation at the Pyongyang Koryo Hotel, according to the newspaper.
Recently, Russia and North Korea have strengthened their political and military ties while actively promoting human and material exchanges. Following the signing of a mutual defense treaty last year, North Korea reportedly sent approximately 12,000 troops to Russia’s front lines in Ukraine.
Notably, North Korea is actively developing transportation networks with Russia’s Primorsky Krai. Last year, railway operations on the Hassan-Tumen River route resumed, and since May, charter tourist trains have been operating from Vladivostok to Rason. Flights between Pyongyang and Vladivostok are also in operation, and a bridge connecting the two countries by land across the Tumen River is expected to be completed within two years.