China’s flag carrier, Air China, has resumed direct flights between Beijing and North Korea’s capital of Pyongyang today after a gap of 6 years. This comes after the restoration of passenger train services between the capitals resumed on 12th March. Flights and passenger trains from China to North Korea had been suspended since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

However, North Korean carrier Air Koryo resumed flights between the capitals in 2023. China is Pyongyang’s biggest trading partner and major ally. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un travelled to Beijing in September last year to attend a massive military parade, marking the first time a North Korean leader had been present at a Chinese military parade in decades.