SEOUL – Months after revealing plans to expand flights between Pyongyang and Beijing, North Korea’s Air Koryo has purchased two new aircraft from the Antonov State Company of Ukraine.

Air Koryo has bought an Antonov An-148 and an Antonov An-158 from Antonov. The former holds 70 seats and the latter as many as 90, depending on seating configuration.

“It makes sense for Air Koryo to buy Antonovs as they already run a fleet of An-24s so there is a prior relationship between Antonov and Air Koryo,” said David Thompson of Juche Travel Services, which is based near London.

The new Antonov model was selected in