Russian military jet lands in North Korea for first time since February



News Russian military jet lands in North Korea for first time since February Flight comes amid cooperation over Ukraine war and preparations for Day of the Sun celebrations in Pyongyang Anton Sokolin April 7, 2026 SHARE COPY LINK FACEBOOK X LINKEDIN MASTODON Russian Air Force Ilyushin Il-62M (RA-86559) in May 2015 \| Image: Sergery Lysenko via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 A Russian military jet landed in Pyongyang on Tuesday, aviation data shows, in the first such flight since February. The Russian Air Force Il-62M (RA-86559) touched down in Pyongyang at around 3:39 p.m. KST, arriving from Moscow after a brief stop in Vladivostok, according to data from Flightradar24. The Il-62M returned to Vladivostok at around 8:20 a.m. KST and departed Moscow-bound in two hours, Flightradar24 showed. Russia and North Korea have not released any details about the flight. Its purpose and who was on board remain unknown. This marks the first trip by a Russian military jet since another Il-62M © Korea Risk Group. All rights reserved. No part of this content may be reproduced, distributed, or used for commercial purposes without prior written permission from Korea Risk Group. Get the Daily Update & Podcast Updates Start your day with the North Korea stories that matter most – as selected by Trending

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Russian military jet lands in North Korea for first time since February

Flight comes amid cooperation over Ukraine war and preparations for Day of the Sun celebrations in Pyongyang

Anton Sokolin April 7, 2026

Russian military jet lands in North Korea for first time since February

Russian Air Force Ilyushin Il-62M (RA-86559) in May 2015 | Image: Sergery Lysenko via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

A Russian military jet landed in Pyongyang on Tuesday, aviation data shows, in the first such flight since February.

The Russian Air Force Il-62M (RA-86559) touched down in Pyongyang at around 3:39 p.m. KST, arriving from Moscow after a brief stop in Vladivostok, according to data from Flightradar24.

The Il-62M returned to Vladivostok at around 8:20 a.m. KST and departed Moscow-bound in two hours, Flightradar24 showed.

Russia and North Korea have not released any details about the flight. Its purpose and who was on board remain unknown.

This marks the first trip by a Russian military jet since another Il-62M

Russian military jet lands in North Korea for first time since February

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