Direct flights between Pyongyang and Moscow to begin this month
Nordwind Airlines, a Russian budget carrier, will begin direct flights between the two cities on July 27, the ministry said Monday night on its Telegram channel. Travel time will be about eight hours.
"For the first time, the capitals of Russia and the DPRK will be connected by direct flights," the ministry said, using the official acronym for North Korea.
"Further flights will be operated once a month -- to create sustainable demand and load flights," the ministry added.
Currently, the only direct flights between the two countries are operated by North Korea's Air Koryo, connecting Pyongyang with Vladivostok in Russia's Far East.
The announcement comes amid growing military and economic ties between Russia and North Korea, highlighted by Pyongyang supplying troops and weapons to Moscow for its war against Ukraine.
North Korea has gradually begun opening up to international tourism after sealing its borders at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in January 2020. So far, foreign visitors have come almost exclusively from Russia.
Russian travelers were the first to return to North Korea post-COVID on the Pyongyang-Vladivostok Air Koryo route early last year. Direct rail service between Pyongyang and Moscow also resumed in June after a five-year suspension.
Last week, the North welcomed around 10 Russian guests -- including Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov -- to its sprawling new beach resort on the east coast, Russia's Kommersant newspaper reported on Monday.
The Wonsan Kalma coastal tourist area runs along 2.5 miles of beachfront and has a capacity for up to 20,000 guests. At a ribbon-cutting ceremony last month, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called the completion of the resort one of the country's "greatest successes this year" and said it would "play a leading role in establishing the tourist culture of the DPRK."
Launched in 2014, the Wonsan project was initially slated to open in April 2019 but faced numerous setbacks, including international sanctions on materials and COVID-19 pandemic closures.
During his visit to Wonsan last week, Lavrov said that Russia also plans to restore maritime passenger routes between the two countries.
"Our Korean friends have expressed interest in having more Russians at the wonderful resort of Wonsan and other resorts in the DPRK," Lavrov said at a press conference. "I have no doubt that this will happen."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
12 minutes ago
- Yahoo
How To Help Your Teen Apply To College
Applying for college is hard. There's navigating financial aid, the common app, preparing for the SATs, alumni interviews, and plenty more hoops to jump through. It's no wonder wealthy parents are willing to shell out thousands to help their kids get into the top schools. Unfortunately, most Americans don't have the resources to hire private tutors and consultants. And the high school counselors in charge of helping them are completely overtaxed: On average, for every counselor at a public high school, there are a whopping 376 students. To level the playing field, Jon Carson started the College Guidance Network (CGN). The company partners with higher education pros and leverages AI to help students and parents every step of the way and help them make the best decision — whether that leads to a university, a trade school, or a gap year. 'Our mission is to democratize expertise,' he tells us. We spoke to Carson about what parents can do to support their kids through this important stage of life, why fewer teens are opting to head straight to a four-year university, and more. Carson: I ran the largest college advising company in the country, so I'm familiar with the space. About 6 percent of the U.S. market uses advisors, and they're quite expensive, but aren't often good. What we've built is guidance in a box: I think of it as Masterclass meets AI for college planning. We create a personalized roadmap: You tell us a little about yourself and your goals and interests, and we assemble checklists and detailed project plans tailored specifically to your needs. We also have over 375 nationally recognized experts to help parents navigate the ins and outs of the application process, how to afford paying for college, and thinking about ROI — which is becoming ever more important as AI starts to eat into entry-level jobs. The ROI equation used to be highly skewed toward the investment piece. People were concerned about how much it'd cost and the loans they'd have to take out, but it was kind of a risk-free decision; all escalators went up. Now that's not really the case. It's become a much riskier decision. The percentage of high schoolers considering a four-year college is 45 percent — down 7 percent since the Covid era. A lot are going to community colleges, a bunch are doing gap years, the military's becoming more appealing. The first thing — and it's completely understandable — is that parents get too anxious. They can be overbearing or just not quite their best selves. So, the first thing I'd say is that you have to calm down because it'll help you make the best decision. The second thing is that they need to be more inquisitive about how an institution will help their kid in career placement. I think too often parents place too much importance on prestige. You've got to pull away and think about this like a financial decision — and don't get caught up in the other things. The earlier you get started, the better. We start our roadmaps in the ninth grade, and help kids start thinking about their summer jobs, how it'll reflect on their applications and things like that. I'd also tell parents that they should have monthly meetings to have a space to talk about this. We did ours on the first Saturday of every month at 11 a.m. What that did was deescalate conflict, because it made them feel like I wasn't nagging them all the time, and we had a designated space for those conversations. The other thing is that parents and students should really think of themselves as a team. This is a journey that they're taking together. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. The post How To Help Your Teen Apply To College appeared first on Katie Couric Media.
New York Post
13 minutes ago
- New York Post
Andrew Cuomo's independent run: Letters to the Editor — July 16, 2025
The Issue: Ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo's decision to stay in the New York City mayoral race as an independent. It is incomprehensible that former Gov. Andrew Cuomo would even think about running for political office again at any level ('Cuo: Hell no, I won't go,' July 15). Does he think people forgot about the decisions he made during COVID that resulted in the horrible deaths of countless elderly people? His involvement in the bail-reform laws have also contributed mightily to the deaths of innocent people and diminished the quality of life in New York City. This is a man with no conscience or self-awareness who is utterly obsessed with power. He just needs to fade into obscurity so we can forget he was ever in the public eye. Robert DiNardo Farmingdale If voters don't want Zohran Mamdani, they should rally around a more competent, although flawed, Cuomo. Mayor Adams is a proven failure. Otherwise, don't complain if Mamdani wins. Robert Berk Manhattan Neither Mamdani nor Cuomo are deserving of the mayorship. However, Adams and Curtis Sliwa need to drop out of the race for mayor and support Cuomo if they truly have the best interests for New Yorkers. Edwin Young The Bronx Why don't Adams and Cuomo swallow their pride and do the right thing for New York City? They should flip a coin or cut cards and whoever loses should support the other candidate. If they truly want to prevent Zohran Mamdani — who is supported by the dumbest of our city — from becoming mayor and completely destroying our city, they will do this for New York. Joseph Napoleone Richmond Hill Cuomo and Adams just don't know when it's time to quit. Cuomo got caught up in a scandal, and Adams got caught up in corruption. They both should go off into the sunset. Sadly, they are not smart enough to do that. Gene O'Brien Whitestone Looks like NYC is going to have a socialist mayor. The once-greatest city in the world will be no more — no thanks to Andrew Cuomo, who is a disgrace. Under his watch, 15,000 nursing-home patients died from COVID and many of his staffers claim they were sexually harassed. He's also known for saying America 'was never that great.' J.R. Cummings Manhattan It's typical of Cuomo and his ego to think he's still relevant to voters. The Cuomo name was ultimately dishonored with his lack of sexual control. I am not a fan of Adams, but unfortunately New York City is so mired in Democratic politics that the chances for Sliwa are slim. Kevin Judge Naples, Fla. The Issue: A fired pediatrician's apology for saying Texas flood victims got 'what they voted for.' The Texas pediatrician, Christina Propst — who heartlessly commented that the flood victims got what they deserved for voting for President Trump — is now trying to take back her shameless remark ('Oh doc, Cry me a river,' July 11). She is saying she didn't know there were any victims when she posted these remarks. Sorry, but that won't fly. Did she expect that there would be no casualties after all that flooding? Warren Goldfein Mount Arlington, NJ This doesn't surprise me; Trump Derangement Syndrome knows no bounds. Propst's apology is weak and transparent. Even if she didn't know about so many dying, it is still absolutely horrible to wish terrible things on people who don't agree with you politically. I am sure glad she was never my kid's pediatrician. Chris Plate Waterloo Want to weigh in on today's stories? Send your thoughts (along with your full name and city of residence) to letters@ Letters are subject to editing for clarity, length, accuracy, and style.
UPI
23 minutes ago
- UPI
Trump says 19% tariff deal reached with Indonesia
On Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump spoke to the media on the South Lawn of the White House before boarding Marine One in Washington, D.C. "We will pay no tariffs," he said on a possible tariff deal with Indonesia. "So they are giving us access into Indonesia, which we never had." Photo by Al Drago/UPI | License Photo July 15 (UPI) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that a trade deal with Indonesia was reached to set 19% tariffs on its U.S. exports. But it was not immediately clear if Indonesian officials had approved the deal's terms. "We will pay no tariffs," the president said to the press outside the White House. "So they are giving us access into Indonesia, which we never had." Trump said that's "probably" the biggest part of the preliminary deal and the other that Indonesia will pay a 19% duty. He claimed later in a social media post that Indonesia, as part of the deal, reportedly "committed to purchasing $15 Billion Dollars in U.S. Energy, $4.5 Billion Dollars in American Agricultural Products, and 50 Boeing Jets, many of them 777's." America's 2024 trade deficit with Jakarta ran more than $17 billion. Oilseeds, grain along with oil and gas were the top U.S. exports to Indonesia. A 19% tariff rate would stand in contrast to his initial threat of 32% on imported goods. According to the U.S. Commerce Department, Indonesia is one of the top 25 U.S. trading partners with over $38 billion exchanged in goods last year. On Tuesday, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick suggested in a television interview that the south Asian nation may drop its U.S. tariffs as as facet to the new deal. "No tariffs there. They pay tariffs here," he said. Trump added in a Truth Social post that the agreement arrived as a direct deal with Indonesia's President Prabowo Subianto. "I spoke to their really great president, very popular, very strong, smart, and we made the deal," he said in Washington later on Tuesday. Indonesia is the world's third biggest copper exporter. Trump on his way to Pittsburg in the day stated that Indonesia "has some great products," saying that "one of the things, as you know, they're known for is very high-quality copper, which we will be using." But it was also unclear if this new trade deal will give an exception to Trump's looming 50% global tariff on metal set to begin in August. Meanwhile, June's Consumer Price Index released Tuesday showed that annual inflation grew to around 2.7%, which has put a damper on Trump's plan to drive down borrowing costs. This week in Washington President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media on the South Lawn of the White House before boarding Marine One on Tuesday. Trump will announce $70 billion in artificial intelligence and energy investments in Pennsylvania on Tuesday, the latest push from the White House to speed up development of the emerging technology. Photo by Al Drago/UPI | License Photo
