Two North Korean passenger jets made relatively rare trips to the country’s northeast in recent days to pick up participants for a war veterans conference, according to NK Pro analysis of state media imagery.

Korean Central Television (KCTV) aired footage Wednesday showing two Air Koryo planes — a Tupolev-134 and Tupolev-154 — taking trips to Samjiyon Airport and Orang Airport (near Chongjin) and returning to Pyongyang International Airport with the elderly veterans. 

The flights did not appear in commercial flight tracking services or Planet Labs satellite imagery of the airports in question, so it is difficult to confirm the flights or determine their date. State media reported participants arrived on July 25. The Tu-134 is registered under tail number P-813 and the Tu-154 under P-561.

Air Koryo has significantly reduced flight activity since North Korea closed its borders in Jan. 2020 to block the spread of COVID-19, but flights do appear to occur somewhat regularly around major events similar in size to this week’s Eighth National Conference of War Veterans.

Flight trackers do not usually record the flights, meaning satellite imagery is often the only way to confirm them. The last time an Air Koryo flight showed up on tracking websites was an unusual trip to nowhere on July 14.

At least two planes appeared parked in front of the Pyongyang airport terminal that day in a manner similar to how they are arranged when dropping off major event participants, suggesting Air Koryo was conducting tests or training. Planes also appeared parked in the same spot on July 2.

Air Koryo finally broke its pandemic moratorium on international flights in May, when North Korea sent three Ilyushin-76 cargo jets to China to pick up pandemic-related supplies.

Meanwhile, state media footage and images showed other war veterans traveling to Pyongyang by train from the northwestern city of Sinuiju and by bus from the southwestern cities of Nampho and Haeju. 

It did not show if or how participants traveled from other major cities such as Wonsan on the east coast — which boasts the country’s newest but rarely used international airport. 

Edited by Arius Derr