BEIJING — For the first time in six years, China’s national airline has reestablished direct air service to North Korea, with flights now operating between Beijing and Pyongyang as of Monday.
Chinese Ambassador Wang Yajun and other diplomatic officials were on hand to mark the return of Air China service to the North Korean capital, state media reported.
The airline resumption comes shortly after rail connections between the two nations returned to operation on March 12.
Both air and rail passenger services had been halted since 2020 when the COVID-19 outbreak began, cutting off most international travel to the isolated nation.
North Korea’s own airline, Air Koryo, had already restarted flights between the two capitals in 2023.
During the health crisis, North Korea implemented a complete prohibition on foreign tourism, though recent months have seen a gradual relaxation of these policies. A Russian tourist delegation was permitted entry in 2024.
Before the travel restrictions took effect, visitors from China represented approximately 90 percent of all tourism to North Korea, making the extended delay in Chinese tour resumption unexpected to many analysts.
Beijing serves as Pyongyang’s most significant economic partner and political supporter, though Chinese officials have periodically criticized North Korea’s missile testing programs that could potentially threaten South Korea and the United States.
In a notable diplomatic gesture last September, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made the trip to Beijing to observe a large-scale military parade, representing the first attendance by a North Korean leader at such a Chinese event in many years.
