Air China, long the only foreign airline serving the North Korean capital of Pyongyang, announced cutbacks on flights to the city from Beijing, effective this week.
Although many suspected the cuts were the result of rising tensions on the Korean peninsula last week, South China Morning Post reports that the move seems to be motivated more by practicality rather than policy. An Air China representative said that the carrier was temporarily cancelling some flights into the Hermit Kingdom based on ticket sales. They clarified that routine services between the two capitals had not been suspended.
Air China's flights to Pyongyang, which commenced in 2008, operate on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. But flights have frequently been cancelled due to unspecified problems.
North Korea tried — and failed — to launch a missile this weekend following a grand military parade.
China banned North Korean coal imports in February after missile tests drew criticism from the international community.
Air China is not the only carrier to operate flights between the two countries. Air Koryo, the state-owned national airline of North Korea, still flies regularly scheduled international round-trip flights to and from Shenyang, Beijing, Shanghai and Vladivostok. Just last month, a new flight from Dandong, a provincial-level city on the border of North Korea in the Liaoning province was added to the list of cities served by the airline.
[Images via Lonely Planet, China Daily]
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