A proposal for Russian airlines to operate on new routes to North Korea reflects growing bilateral ties but also raises serious feasibility issues, experts say, with sanctions and limited demand likely to keep the plan from taking off.

Russian aviation authorities have approached the country’s main carrier Aeroflot and its former subsidiary Aurora with a proposal to operate flights to Pyongyang, the Russian newspaper Kommersant reported last week, citing anonymous sources.

The Russian Federal Air Transport Agency put forward the proposal shortly after its officials visited Pyongyang earlier this month as part of a high-level delegation, according to the