Moscow, Nov 20 (EFE).- Russia’s civil aviation agency has proposed regular direct flights to North Korea as the two nations strengthen their strategic ties amid the ongoing Ukraine war.
According to the Kommersant newspaper, Rosaviatsia extended the proposal to launch flights to Pyongyang to Aeroflot, Russia’s primary airline, and its subsidiary, Aurora.
Aurora, based on Sakhalin Island in the Sea of Okhotsk, has tentatively agreed to initiate the operation.
A delegation from Rosaviatsia recently traveled to the hermit country to discuss the initiative with the North Korean civil aviation authorities.
xperts cited by Kommersant indicated that the primary interest in establishing regular flights comes from political and business circles. Regardless, a stopover in Vladivostok, the capital of the Russian Far East, would likely be necessary.
Flights between the two countries resumed in August and since then the North Korean company Air Koryo has operated only two flights a week.
The ties between Russia and North Korea have strengthened since the Ukraine war began in February last year, particularly as Moscow faced ammunition shortages.
Russia and North Korea have grown closer since the start of the war in Ukraine, especially since Moscow began experiencing ammunition shortages.
Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in September, a meeting that prompted South Korea and the United States to allege that Pyongyang supplied millions of artillery shells to Moscow.
Last week, North Korea and Russia signed a protocol on trade and science and technology during the visit of a Russian delegation to Pyongyang. EFE
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