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Russia on Sunday opened a regular air link between Moscow and Pyongyang, a move reflecting increasingly close ties between the two countries.
The first flight operated by Russian carrier Nordwind took off from Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport on Sunday, carrying over 400 passengers, and landed in North Korea's capital around eight hours later.
Tickets for the flight were priced at 45,000 rubles (around €480), according to Russian state media outlet TASS. It reported that authorities gave Norwind permission to fly to North Korea in July.
The airline used to carry Russians to holiday destinations across Europe, including Spain and Germany, until the EU banned Russian carriers from operating in its airspace in 2022.
Russia's Transport Ministry said there will be one flight a month to meet demand. It may be the first regular flight between the two capital cities since the mid-1990s, according to Russian aviation blogs and follows the resumption of the 10-day Moscow to Pyongyang rail service in June.
Previously, the only direct flight between Russia and North Korea was the service from Vladivostok in Russia's Far East.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who visited North Korea's new Wonsan-Kalma beach resort earlier this month to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, promised to encourage Russian tourists to visit the complex.
The resort, which can accommodate nearly 20,000 people, is at the centre of Kim’s push to boost tourism to improve his country’s troubled economy.
North Korea has been slowly easing the curbs imposed during the pandemic and reopening its borders in phases. But the country hasn’t said if it will fully resume international tourism. Restrictions still largely ban foreign tourists from entering the country.
Regular flights between Russia’s eastern port city of Vladivostok and Pyongyang reopened in 2023 following a break caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Russia and North Korea have sharply expanded military and other ties in recent years, with Pyongyang supplying weapons and troops to back Russia’s military action in Ukraine.