May 18, 2024
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Flight of the Concorde? North Korea’s brief flirtation with supersonic airliners

DPRK once pursued deal to buy Concorde jets, highlighting its pursuit of new tech and desire for recognition from West
Daniel Salisbury May 3, 2024
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Flight of the Concorde? North Korea’s brief flirtation with supersonic airliners
A postcard photo of a Concorde jet taking off | Image: Roger W via Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0 DEED)

For all its advancements in ballistic missile technology, North Korea is hardly known for excellence in the realm of commercial air travel, maintaining a ragtag fleet of aging Soviet jets that are only becoming harder to repair.

But there was a time when the DPRK had high hopes for its civilian airline, and even harbored dreams of breaking the sound barrier with its commercial jets.

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