고려항공, 23일 블라디보스토크행 임시편 배정 확인,... 북러 정상회담 확정?
There have been growing signs that North Korea's Kim Jong-un and Russia's President Vladimir Putin would soon meet in Vladivostock on the sidelines of a separate forum there.
Now one more hint at that -- a flight apparently scheduled between the two countries.
Lee Ji-won has more.
An extra flight from Pyeongyang to the Russian city of Vladivostok has been scheduled for North Korea's Air Koryo next Tuesday.
The plane is to take off at 11 a.m. and arrive in Vladivostok's international airport an hour and a half later.
Flights from Pyeongyang to Vladivostok are normally scheduled for every Monday and Friday.
The extra flight schedule has been confirmed by an official at Vladivostok International Airport, but the official said they do not have the exact details of it.
The information is not yet up on Air Koryo's website.
And it's reported that when asked about the flight, airline officials are denying the extra schedule,... adding not to ask them questions.
This further fuels speculation that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un could visit Russia next week for a summit with President Vladimir Putin.
Neither side has officially confirmed anything about the possible meeting.
But earlier this month, Russia's presidential aide ( )Yuri Ushakov confirmed that an invitation has been handed over to the North and that Russia is waiting for a response from Pyeongyang.
In March, North Korean protocol chief Kim Chang-son spent about a week visiting Moscow and Vladivostok,... and South Korea's Foreign Affairs Ministry also confirmed that a summit between the two leaders is currently in the works.
Should Kim Jong-un fly over to Russia next week,... the two leaders are likely to have their the first Pyeongyang-Moscow summit in 8 years on April 24th, the day after Kim's expected arrival.
Putin is scheduled to fly over to Beijing for a forum on China's "One Belt One Road" initiative later that week.
Since last year, as North Korea has been getting more involved in talks with South Korea and the U.S., Kim Jong-un visited China four times.
And with the Hanoi summit collapsing without an agreement, watchers have been speculating that Kim is also likely to try to highlight the North's alliance with Russia.
Lee Ji-won, Arirang News.
