- China's flag carrier, Air China, resumed direct flights between Beijing and North Korea's capital, Pyongyang, on Monday.
- This follows the restoration of passenger train services between the two capitals on 12 March.
- Both flights and passenger trains to North Korea had been suspended since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.
- North Korea is gradually easing its pandemic-era restrictions, which included a ban on all foreign tourists, with a Russian tour group entering in 2024.
- China is Pyongyang’s biggest trading partner and a major ally, with Chinese tour groups previously accounting for 90 per cent of all visitors to North Korea.
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