Correction: A previous version of this article said the UN had yet to ban the sale of aircraft to North Korea, when in fact such provisions were added in December 2017. The article has been amended to reflect that fact.

Russia is actively pushing for the easing of sanctions on North Korea to allow, among other things, the country’s national carrier Air Koryo to purchase new commercial aircraft, the country’s ambassador to the DPRK Alexander Matsegora said in an interview with Izvestia published late last week.

Speaking to the Russian newspaper in Pyongyang, Matsegora said his country was “trying to