Pyongyang deepens ties with Moscow through direct flights, snubs Seoul's efforts

This article is by Michael Lee and read by an artificial voice.

[NEWS ANALYSIS]
A Russian airline last week flew the first direct commercial flights between Moscow and Pyongyang in decades, signaling a new phase in Russia-North Korea relations.
Nordwind Airlines, a privately owned Russian carrier once associated with ferrying Russian tourists to Mediterranean beach towns, operated the inaugural flight between the two capitals on July 27, with the return trip occurring two days later.
The first flight - NWS6107 - landed at Pyongyang International Airport on Monday after more than eight hours in the air, having departed Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport at around 7:30 p.m. the previous day.
The opening of the direct route came as South Korean President Lee Jae Myung is pushing to reduce inter-Korean tensions and resume exchanges with the North, to little avail.
Though state airlines and limited services have previously connected the two capitals, this new regular route by Nordwind represents a symbolic normalization of bilateral mobility at a time when both Russia and North Korea face continuing efforts from the West to isolate them economically and diplomatically.
A carefully timed announcement
The decision to reopen direct flights comes against the backdrop of Russia's ongoing war against Ukraine and Pyongyang's increasing willingness to re-engage with select foreign partners after years of pandemic-induced isolation.
Although Russian state media reported that the Boeing 777 that departed Moscow on July 27 was mostly filled with North Koreans returning home, Russian Natural Resources Minister Alexander Kozlov was among a number of Russian citizens aboard.

He held talks upon arrival the following day with Yun Jong-ho, the North's external economic relations minister, further highlighting the dual purpose of the route as both a commercial experiment and a diplomatic gesture.
In media reports, Russian officials emphasized the significance of the route's opening in the context of the "strategic partnership" between Pyongyang and Moscow - though not without exaggeration.
"For the first time in more than 70 years of diplomatic relations, we are launching direct flights between the capitals of our countries," said Vladimir Poteshkin, Russia's deputy transport minister, on Telegram.
However, earlier reports indicate that carriers, such as Russia's Aeroflot and North Korea's Air Koryo, maintained service between Moscow and Pyongyang into the early 2000s, making the Nordwind flights a resumption rather than a true first.
Direct flights between Pyongyang and the eastern Russian city of Vladivostok have also been in operation since 2023.

Still, the opening of the air route between Pyongyang and Moscow marks a drastic improvement in transit time over the two cities' rail connection, by which one-way journeys take approximately a week.
Questions abound
Although a Nordwind staff member, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, touted his company's flights to Pyongyang as "a historic event that strengthens the ties between our nations," the flights' commercial viability and actual popularity remain uncertain.
Tickets for the first flight were reportedly priced at 45,000 rubles (approximately $570) - a steep fare by Russian domestic standards.
The ministry also claimed seats on the flight were sold out, though AFP reported that at least nine seats were available on Nordwind's website on the morning the flight departed from Moscow for Pyongyang.
However, Pyongyang is no longer listed as a destination on the website, suggesting that tickets to the North Korean capital are no longer publicly available for individual purchase.

While Russia's civil aviation authority has granted Nordwind permission to operate flights between the two capital cities twice a week, the Russian Ministry of Transportation said that flights would initially operate only once a month in order to "help build stable demand."
The same Boeing 777 that arrived in Pyongyang ...