North Korea’s national carrier, Air Koryo, may have gotten close to acquiring new planes from Russia last year, according to an NK News investigation.

Signs of a deal first surfaced last summer, when two Russian Tupolev-204s — of which the airline already owns two — were seen parked at an airport in the Caucasus painted in an incomplete Air Koryo livery.

In February, it was revealed the planes were being leased by a small Kyrgyz airline, and NK Newscan now report evidence pointing to a failed North Korean attempt to acquire a familiar model of plane in a changed