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Direct flights from Moscow to North Korea have begun this week, amid a strengthening of ties between the two nations and a decline in options for Russian tourists travelling abroad.

The first Moscow-Pyongyang flight, operated by Russia’s Nordwind Airlines, took off on Sunday, according to the Sheremetyevo airport’s website, and landed in the North Korean capital about eight hours later.

The route will initially be serviced only once a month, Russia’s transport ministry said, with the first return flight from Pyongyang to Moscow taking place on Tuesday.

Nordwind Airlines – which used to carry Russians to holiday destinations in Europe before the EU imposed a ban on Russian flights – had tickets priced at 45,000 rubles ($570).

“This is a historical event, strengthening the ties between our nations,” Oleg, a Nordwind employee managing the flight who did not want to give his full name, told Agence France-Presse at the airport. He also declined to say how many passengers were onboard.

Russia and North Korea have been forging closer military bonds in recent years, with Pyongyang supplying troops and weapons for Russia’s military operations in Ukraine. They signed a mutual defence pact last year when the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, visited North Korea.

“For the first time in more than 70 years of diplomatic relations, we are launching direct flights between the capitals of our countries,” Russia’s deputy transport minister, Vladimir Poteshkin, was quoted as saying on the ministry’s Telegram account.

It comes as North Korea pushes its own tourism drive, as it slowly relaxes restrictions on overseas visitors introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic. Regular tourism is still effectively banned, although Russian tourists have been allowed to visit certain parts of the country on group tours, and foreign runners competed in a marathon in Pyongyang in April.

In June, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un launched a new beach resort located on the country’s east coast which authorities reportedly hope will attract 20,000 visitors a year.