First commercial flight from Moscow lands in Pyongyang
Russia and North Korea have pulled closer in the last year, with Pyongyang sending weapons and troops to aid Moscow's war in Ukraine – likely in exchange for technical assistance, experts say.
Tracking site Flight Aware showed Russia's Nordwind Airlines' Boeing 777 landing in Pyongyang at 09:15 a.m. (GMT 00:15).
'This is a historical event, strengthening the ties between our nations,' Oleg, a Nordwind employee on the flight who did not give his full name, said at the airport in Moscow Sunday.
A video posted on Russian news agency RIA Novosti's Telegram account showed North Korean officials and flight attendants welcoming the Russian passengers with flowers at Pyongyang's international airport.
One North Korean official is seen checking the temperatures of the disembarking Russians with an electronic thermometer.
Russia's Minister of Natural Resources Alexander Kozlov was among those on the inaugural flight, RIA Novosti said on Telegram.
Nordwind Airlines – which used to carry Russians to holiday destinations in Europe before the EU imposed a ban on Russian flights – had tickets priced at 45,000 rubles ($570) for the route.
Russia previously announced the Moscow-Pyongyang route would be serviced once per month.
The two heavily sanctioned nations signed a military deal last year, including a mutual defense clause, during a rare visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin to Pyongyang.
South Korean and Western intelligence agencies have said Pyongyang sent more than 10,000 soldiers to Russia's Kursk region last year, along with artillery shells, missiles and long-range rocket systems.
Around 600 North Korean soldiers have been killed and thousands more wounded fighting for Russia, according to Seoul.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un offered Moscow his full support for its war in Ukraine during recent talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, state media reported.
Russia's state news agency TASS reported that the first return flight from Pyongyang to Moscow would take place on Tuesday.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Arabiya
26 minutes ago
- Al Arabiya
Kremlin calls reports of cyberattack on Aeroflot worrying, says seeking more information
The Kremlin on Monday called reports of a cyberattack attack on Russian flag carrier Aeroflot's internal systems worrying and said it wanted more information about the situation. Aeroflot said on Monday that it had cancelled up to 50 flights after reporting a failure in its information systems. A pro-Ukrainian hacking group called Silent Crow claimed responsibility for the attack. 'The information we read in the public domain is quite alarming,' Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. 'The threat of hacking is a threat that remains for all large companies that provide services to the public. We will, of course, (seek to) clarify this information and wait for the relevant explanations.'
Asharq Al-Awsat
37 minutes ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Kim Jong Un's Sister Rejects Outreach by South's New President
The influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un rebuffed overtures by South Korea's new liberal government, saying Monday that its 'blind trust' in the country's alliance with the US and hostility toward North Korea make it no different from its conservative predecessor. Kim Yo Jong's comments imply that North Korea — now preoccupied with its expanding cooperation with Russia — sees no need to resume diplomacy with South Korea and the US anytime soon. Experts say she likely hopes to drive a wedge between Seoul and Washington. 'We clarify once again the official stand that no matter what policy is adopted and whatever proposal is made in Seoul, we have no interest in it and there is neither a reason to meet nor an issue to be discussed,' Kim Yo Jong said in a statement carried by state media. It's North Korea's first official statement on the government of South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, which took office in early June with a promise to improve badly frayed ties with North Korea. Lee's government has halted anti-Pyongyang frontline loudspeaker broadcasts, taken steps to ban activists from flying balloons with propaganda leaflets across the border and repatriated North Koreans who were drifted south in wooden boats months earlier. North Korea has shunned talks with South Korea and the US since leader Kim Jong Un's high-stakes nuclear diplomacy with President Donald Trump fell apart in 2019 due to wrangling over international sanctions. North Korea has since focused on building more powerful nuclear weapons targeting its rivals and declared a hostile 'two-state' system on the Korean Peninsula to terminate relations with South Korea. Kim Yo Jong called Lee's steps 'sincere efforts' to develop ties, but said the new government still 'stands in confrontation' with North Korea. She mentioned the upcoming summertime South Korea-US military drills, which North Korea views as an invasion rehearsal. South Korea's Unification Ministry responded that it will steadfastly seek reconciliation with North Korea to realize peaceful coexistence. Spokesperson Koo Byoungsam told reporters that the statement shows North Korea closely monitors the Lee government's North Korea policy despite deep mistrust. Moon Seong Mook, an analyst for the Seoul-based Korea Research Institute for National Strategy, said Kim Yo Jong's statement shows North Korea is holding out for South Korea to abandon the US alliance. Moon said that Kim likely sees little upside in engaging with the South since it cannot restart economic projects that previously benefited the North as long as international sanctions remain in place. North Korea focuses on Russian ties North Korea built cooperation with Russia, sending troops and conventional weapons to support its war in Ukraine, and likely receiving economic and technological assistance in return. Since beginning his second term in January, Trump has repeatedly boasted of his personal ties with Kim Jong Un and expressed intent to resume diplomacy with him. But North Korea hasn't publicly responded to Trump's overture. Leif-Eric Easley, professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, said that Kim Yo Jong's statement had a domestic audience. 'Kim Yo Jong's comments are an effort to advance national pride by portraying North Korea in a superior position, despite its economic struggles and international pariah status,' Easley said. 'She also seeks to justify Pyongyang's weapons programs and divide Seoul and Washington by criticizing upcoming military exercises.' Still, there is a limit on what North Korea can get from Russia, and Pyongyang could change course at a major upcoming meeting of the ruling Workers' Party, likely to be held in January, said Kwak Gil Sup, the head of One Korea Center, a website specializing in North Korea affairs. 'I think North Korea may formulate a Plan B and Plan C in relations for South Korea and the US,' Kwak said.
Al Arabiya
an hour ago
- Al Arabiya
EU-US trade deal ‘heavy blow' to European industry: Russia
Russia on Monday criticized a trade deal reached between the European Union and the United States, saying it would deal a 'heavy blow' to European industry. 'Such an approach will lead to the further de-industrialization of Europe, to the flow of investments from Europe to the United States, and of course, this will be a very heavy blow,' Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told a youth conference near Moscow.
