North Korea Cancels First Commercial Flight Post-Covid, No Reason Provided

North Korea has been largely closed off from the outside world since early 2020, when it shut its borders in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

      Monday was expected to see Air Koryo conduct its first commercial flight in over three years

Beijing: On Monday, the nation's airline was scheduled to operate its first commercial flight in more than three years, but it was hastily postponed at the last minute.

Since early 2020, when North Korea closed its borders in reaction to the Covid-19 pandemic, the country has been largely cut off from the outside world.

On Monday, media representatives gathered at Beijing's Capital International Airport in anticipation of Air Koryo flight JS151 from Pyongyang, which was scheduled to touch down at 09:50 (0150 GMT).

However, over two hours after it was supposed to arrive, a signboard in the airport abruptly announced that it had been canceled, drawing moans of dismay from the media who had been waiting to interview some of the isolated North's first foreign visitors in years.

Customer service at Beijing Airport informed AFP that the troubled state airline of Pyongyang, Air Koryo, had not provided a justification for the cancellation.

When questioned about the cancellation on Monday, the Chinese foreign ministry would only say that Beijing and Pyongyang commercial flights had been given the go-ahead to resume.

According to Wang Wenbin, a spokesman for the foreign ministry, "during the summer and autumn flight season... the Chinese side approved flight plans for passengers, such as the Pyongyang-Beijing and Beijing-Pyongyang routes of Air Koryo."

A man wearing a vest snoozing on the sofa in the dimly lit room was surprised when AFP reporters knocked on the bolted glass doors of the Air Koryo office in Beijing on Monday afternoon.

A second man who opened the door repeatedly said "we don't know" in response to AFP's inquiries.

As a third man entered, his shirt displaying an emblem with photos of the nation's two former presidents, he directed reporters to the Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the North Korean governing party, for "accurate" information.

There are more and more indications that Pyongyang may be loosening up on border controls after three years of Covid-induced isolation.

The first foreign dignitaries to visit North Korea in years, Chinese and Russian officials witnessed a military parade in the capital city last month.

A delegation of athletes was permitted last week by Pyongyang to travel to Kazakhstan to compete in taekwondo.

According to reports from the Yonhap and Kyodo news agencies, a group of individuals thought to be athletes from North Korea entered China last Wednesday before continuing on to Beijing and then traveling to Central Asia.

It was anticipated that Air Koryo will operate its first commercial flight in more than three years on Monday.

The Unification Ministry in Seoul, which oversees relations with the North, told AFP that it was "absolutely nothing we are aware of" that the flight had been canceled.

An official stated that there have been some indications that North Korea is reopening its borders.

However, they continued, "it is still impossible to say whether it is a full-scale opening of the border or a rather limited and controlled opening.

professional website Air Koryo was scheduled to operate two flights from Vladivostok, Russia, to Pyongyang on Friday and next Monday, according to NK News on Monday.