The three new domestic air travel routes in North Korea are reportedly operating on
a regular schedule, according to an editorial by pro-North publication, Chosun
Sinbo, on November 12th.
According to the propagandist publication, which is published by Chongryon [General Association of Korean Residents in
Japan], since July, both the Pyongyang-Samjiyon and Pyongyang-Orang routes
have been operating weekly on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, respectively. The
Orang route round-trip option costs 148 USD [90 USD for a one-way ticket], while
the Samjiyon course ticket comes to 155 USD [94 USD one-way]. The
Pyongyang-Hamheung route operates on Mondays with tickets are priced at 104 USD
[65 USD one-way].
“In the past, connections were available in
all of these sections, but no recurrent service was not offered,” the report stated. “The
Pyongyang-Samjiyon route has almost completely filled up and will not operate
in the winter,” it went on to claim of the route’s success.
The popularity of the route is attributed
to Pyongyang residents and foreign tourists headed to Baekdu Mountain in the
Samjiyon region of Yangkang Province; predicting this, the North likely opened
the route for regular service seeking to procure much-needed foreign currency
from foreign visitors vacationing there.
The Orang and Hamgeung routes are not
frequently utilized by residents, the report went on, but rather by relatives of North Koreans living
overseas to access other provinces in a fraction of
the time via Pyongyang.
“I’m on my way to
see family in Kim Chaek City by means of the Pyongyang-Orang route option,” Cho Dong Hyun, 66, a second-generation Korean-Japanese
resident told the publication. “It used to take me days to get
there by car, so I’m really grateful for this new
convenient travel option.”
