The event was to take place on Monday. While all air links have resumed for several years all over the world, North Korea was preparing to reopen its border on Monday with a first commercial flight since the start of the Covid-19 epidemic. After more than three years of waiting, the airline Air Koryo finally canceled the flight to Beijing (China) at the last minute, after two hours of delay. The airline gave no explanation for the cancellation. Beijing had however announced that it had “approved the flight plans of the North Korean company Air Koryo for the Pyongyang-Beijing and Beijing-Pyongyang routes”.
North Korea was the first country to seal its borders in 2020, when neighboring China saw the first cases of a mysterious virus that would cause the Covid-19 pandemic. Pyongyang has since kept its borders closed, with rare exceptions.
After three years of isolation due to Covid, the signs of a possible reopening of the North Korean borders are increasing. Last month, Russian and Chinese officials attended a military parade in Pyongyang, the first foreigners allowed to visit North Korea in years. North Korea also sent athletes from China last week to a taekwondo competition in Kazakhstan. They are the first sportsmen to have been seen outside the country.
According to the site specialized in North Korea NK NewsAir Koryo is to make two flights in the coming days between Vladivostok (Russia) and Pyongyang.