China reinstates direct flights to North Korea following a six-year hiatus due to COVID-19.

China’s national airline restarted direct flights between Beijing and North Korea’s capital, Pyongyang, on Monday, shortly after passenger train services were also resumed between the two capitals.

The flight from Air China was greeted by the Chinese ambassador to North Korea, Wang Yajun, along with other diplomats, as reported by Chinese state media.

Passenger train services from China to North Korea resumed on March 12.
Both flights and trains to North Korea had been halted since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

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The North Korean airline Air Koryo began flights between the capitals again in 2023.

During the pandemic, North Korea barred all foreign tourists but has started to lift those restrictions, allowing a Russian tour group to enter in 2024.

Before the ban, Chinese tour groups accounted for 90% of all visitors to North Korea, and the delay in resuming Chinese tours was surprising to many observers.

As Pyongyang’s largest trading partner and key ally, China has voiced concerns over North Korea’s missile test-launches aimed potentially at South Korea and the United States.

In September, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited Beijing for a large military parade, marking the first appearance of a North Korean leader at a Chinese military event in decades.