Russia on Sunday started direct business flights to North Korea, in an extra signal of nearer ties with its Asian ally serving to its offensive in Ukraine.The primary Moscow-Pyongyang flight, operated by Nordwind Airways, was scheduled to take off at 1600 GMT and land within the North Korean capital some eight hours later, in accordance with the service’s web site.Nordwind Airways — an organization that used to serve vacation locations in Europe earlier than the EU imposed a ban on Russian flights — had tickets priced at 45,000 rubles ($570).Russia’s state information company TASS reported that the primary flight going the opposite method, from Pyongyang to Moscow, would happen on Tuesday.Russia’s transport ministry stated the route can be serviced as soon as a month.Russia and North Korea restored prepare hyperlinks on June 17 after suspending them in 2020 through the Covid pandemic.The 2 international locations have been forging nearer navy bonds lately, with Pyongyang supplying troops and weapons for Russia to make use of in its navy operations in Ukraine.They signed a mutual defence pact final yr, when Russian President Vladimir Putin visited North Korea.North Korea confirmed for the primary time in April that it had deployed a contingent of its troopers to the frontline in Ukraine, alongside Russian troops.
