An unknown foreign aircraft appeared at North Korea’s main airport on Thursday, NK News analysis of satellite imagery shows, possibly pointing to an unannounced Russian flight carrying high-level officials for talks.

The plane was captured on the tarmac of Pyongyang International Airport at around 11:40 a.m., according to Planet Labs low-resolution satellite imagery. Flight-tracking website Flightradar24 did not appear to record the flight, suggesting the plane did not transmit its geolocation signal.

The jet’s size stood out among the aircraft operated by North Korea’s national airline. It measured over 60 meters (197 feet) in length, with a wingspan of 60 meters, making it larger than any Air Koryo plane and suggesting it belongs to another country’s fleet.

Given the frequency of Russia-DPRK exchanges and last year’s surge in Russian flights to North Korea, it is possible that the aircraft arrived from Russia.

One possible candidate for the unidentified aircraft is the Boeing 747SP, which is about 185 feet long with a wingspan of nearly 196 feet. But a more likely match is the Russian-made Ilyushin Il-96, with its Il-96-300 and Il-96-400 models featuring a 197-foot wingspan and measuring in at 182 feet and 210 feet in length, respectively.

Such large jets typically transport high-ranking officials, including Russian President Vladimir Putin when he visited last June. 

In November, for instance, an Il-96 (tail number RA-96018) landed in Pyongyang carrying Russian ecology and natural resources minister Alexander Kozlov for talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Similarly, an Il-96-300 (RA-96014) flew directly from Moscow to Pyongyang in late October, and an Il-96 (RA-96017) may have transported Russian chief prosecutor Igor Krasnov for a meeting with his North Korean counterpart last July.

Il-96s that transport Russian top officials often have similar tail numbers as they are operated by the Kremlin-controlled Special Flight Squadron. 

Thursday’s flight follows a similar clandestine journey by a foreign aircraft in mid-January, identified using low-resolution satellite imagery by NK Pro. The purpose of that flight remains unknown, but it came amid expanding military contacts between Moscow and Pyongyang.

Meanwhile, another Il-62M passenger jet operated by the Russian airforce made a round trip from a military airbase near Moscow to Pyongyang via Vladivostok in late February, marking the first confirmed Russian flight since the start of the year.

Edited by Bryan Betts