Russian government VIP plane makes unannounced trip to North Korea | NK News
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September 17, 2026Sep 17, 2026

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Russian government VIP plane makes unannounced trip to North Korea

Flight may have transported trade delegation, while expert says uptick in air traffic points to ‘sensitive’ exchanges

A VIP Russian government jet made an unannounced trip to North Korea on Monday, possibly to transport a Russian trade delegation, in its second clandestine flight to the country this month.

Russia’s Special Flight Squadron Tupolev Tu-154 (tail number RA-85843) departed Vladivostok at 7:12 a.m. KST on Monday and reached Pyongyang’s Sunan International Airport at 8:15 a.m., the aviation tracking website Flightradar24 showed.

The aircraft didn’t stay at the North Korean capital for long, in the skies east of Pyongyang at 9:38 a.m. and landing back in Vladivostok at 10:36 a.m.

Japan’s Kyodo News reportedthat a delegation of experts