Mystery Russian plane, IL-62M, in Pyongyang stokes concerns of arms deals

An unscheduled Russian military VIP plane touched down in Pyongyang this week, days after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made a rare trip to his neighbor for talks the US said likely focused on arms transfers. [WION VIDEO]
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Tracking data from FlightRadar24 shows the Russian Air Force Ilyushin IL-62M flying from Moscow to Pyongyang, arriving on Tuesday morning. The tail number on the plane indicates it was the same aircraft Russia sent to North Korea in August, just days after Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu traveled to Pyongyang and was guided by Kim through a collection of his country’s latest weaponry.

Data from FlightRadar24 also indicates the plane returned to Russia on Thursday after having been on the ground in North Korea for about two days. North Korean state media has made no mention of the plane and the Russian Defense Ministry did not respond to a request for comment sent by email.

Specialist service NK News, which spotted the plane’s arrival, said the silence surrounding the flight could indicate there were military officials on board for talks on weapons or technology transfers. About a day after the plane departed Pyongyang, Russia’s official Tass news agency reported that North Korea’s Minister of External Economic Relations Yun Jong Ho had arrived in Moscow for a working visit.

North Korea has had almost no international air traffic since it closed its borders at the start of the pandemic in early 2020. The arrival of two flights in the space of less than two months highlights cooperation between the two countries, which have drawn closer as the US and its partners tried to isolate them with international sanctions.

“It seems that Russia has rediscovered the strategic value of North Korea against the backdrop of North Korea’s support in the war and the formation of the US-South Korea-Japan trilateral alliance,” said Jeh Sung-Hoon, head of the department of Russian Studies at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies.

“Since the interests of both countries are aligned, North Korea-Russia cooperation should move forward quickly,” Jeh said.

Kim spent about a week in Russia this month where he held a summit with Vladimir Putin at Russia’s Vostochny Cosmodrome space center. He received pledges from the president of assistance in building satellites and firing them off on Russian rockets. [Bloomberg]