(Bloomberg) — North Korea’s state-owned airline made its first international trip since the start of the Covid pandemic, in a sign of easing border restrictions that could repatriate its stranded nationals abroad and curb trade with its powerful neighbor. enlarge.
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Flight records show that an Air Koryo passenger jet flew from Pyongyang to Beijing on Tuesday, in what would be the first such commercial flight in more than three years. China’s foreign ministry said this week that the country had authorized the flight. Air Koryo will also operate flights on Friday and August 28 between Vladivostok and Pyongyang, according to NK News, a specialized service on North Korea.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un sealed the border at the start of the pandemic in early 2020. The move curbed his heavily sanctioned state’s petty legal trade and also left North Korean diplomats and thousands of workers deported to such places. sent. like Russia and China to earn hard currency for Kim’s regime.
In a sign of opening, North Korea let in high-level delegations from Russia and China last month for the first time since the pandemic began, and this month sent a group of its taekwondo athletes abroad to compete in a championship in Kazakhstan.
Read: Secret deals with Russia help finance Kim Jong-un’s nuclear program
Signs of a resumption of trade with China, historically Pyongyang’s largest partner, led Fitch Solutions to estimate that North Korea’s economy was growing again after two full years of contraction. Still, it added that significant uncertainties still remain.
Air Koryo has previously been ranked among the worst airlines in the world.
–With help from Danny Lee.
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