“This flight isn’t a full resumption of the route yet, it is a special flight for Koreans only to take people home again after years being stuck overseas,” said Simon Cockerell, general manager at Beijing-based Koryo Tours. “The same as the flights that seem likely to happen soon from Vladivostok.”
“It’s all happening, but for Koreans first, the rest of us … later,” he said.
“GRADUAL OPENING”
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has built hundreds of kilometres of new or upgraded border fences, walls and guard posts since the pandemic began, enabling his government to tighten the flow of information and goods into the country, keep foreign elements out and its people in.
Before the pandemic, Russia and China were estimated to host nearly 20,000 North Koreans each, according to a report by the Association of Asian Studies. Since the end of 2019, UN. Security Council resolutions have required that all countries deport North Korean workers.
It is unclear how many from the North Korean community – mostly students and people who work in restaurants and government-related jobs in areas such as tourism and cultural promotion – still remain in China.
The travel curb hurt not just ordinary people but diplomats as well. The current Chinese ambassador to North Korea, Wang Yajun, had to wait 15 months after being named for the job before he could enter the country this March to take up his role.
Many foreign delegations closed their embassies in Pyongyang because they were unable to rotate staff or ship in supplies for much of the pandemic.
One diplomat for a Western country that pulled its staff from its embassy in Pyongyang said there was no official word from North Korean officials on when they could return.
“We expect a gradual opening with ‘friendly’ countries first, so we may be a bit down the list,” the diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive issue.
The Chinese foreign ministry said on Monday that Beijing had approved North Korea’s state carrier Air Koryo resuming flights to China.
The Civil Aviation Administration of China did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the future frequency of Air Koryo flights to China and when Chinese state carrier Air China may resume flying its North Korea-China routes.