Russia sent a military plane to North Korea. Mysterious flight to Kim Jong Un
1:56 PM EDT, September 27, 2023, updated: 9:17 AM EDT, October 5, 2023
A Russian plane made an unannounced flight to Pyongyang. The passenger Il-62 used by the Russian military took off from Moscow on Tuesday and has not yet left North Korean territory.
This is not the first unannounced flight that the Russian VIP passenger plane Ilyushin Il-62 has made. As the news service NK News recalls, a similar situation occurred in August. Even then, there were speculations about potential arms deals between Russia and North Korea.
Russia is silent
According to data recorded by Flightradar24, a Russian airplane landed in the capital of North Korea on Tuesday. It flew directly from Moscow. As of Wednesday morning, it had not yet left Kim Jong Un's country's territory.
Russia does not want to disclose the purpose of the flight. As NK News analyzes, there is a high probability that military officials who will participate in preliminary discussions on agreements concerning the transfer of weapons or military technology were on board the plane.
The second hypothesis related to the purpose of the trip is to refine plans related to the upcoming visit of the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to Pyongyang. The meeting is to take place in October. It may also be about organizing the promised visit of Vladimir Putin to North Korea.
The Ilyushin Il-62 is a VIP passenger aircraft. It is used during the organization of military delegations. This time, it moved to North Korea, flying over Russian airspace and over the Sea of Japan. Then it went to the capital of North Korea, avoiding Chinese airspace.
