MOSCOW, July 29 (Xinhua) -- An aircraft from Pyongyang landed at Moscow's Sheremetyevo International Airport on Tuesday, completing its first round-trip, direct flight between the capitals of Russia and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) in nearly 30 years.
The Boeing 777-200ER aircraft operated by Russia's Nordwind Airlines carried about 440 passengers in its full seating capacity, mostly DPRK nationals.
Direct flights between the two capitals resumed on Sunday after close to three decades. The inaugural flight from Moscow arrived in Pyongyang on Monday, about eight hours after its take-off, and was greeted by a ceremonial water salute at the airport, the DPRK's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.
Addressing a welcome ceremony, Yun Jong Ho, the DPRK minister of external economic relations, said resuming direct flights between Pyongyang and Moscow marks a rapid development of bilateral ties, the report said.
Traveling on board the first flight to Pyongyang was a Russian delegation headed by Minister of Natural Resources Alexander Kozlov for talks on bilateral cooperation, the KCNA reported.
For the time being, the direct air service between the two capitals is offered once a month, the Russian Ministry of Transport has said.
Kozlov has told Russia's TASS news agency that flight frequency will be determined after an assessment of passenger traffic.
A direct air route is likely to be opened between Moscow and Wonsan city on the DPRK's east coast in the future, he said.
Currently, the DPRK's flag carrier Air Koryo operates three weekly direct flights between Russia's Far Eastern city of Vladivostok and Pyongyang. Enditem
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