Flight of the Concorde? North Korea’s brief flirtation with supersonic airliners



Features 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 SHARE COPY LINK FACEBOOK X LINKEDIN MASTODON 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. 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. Become a member for less than $5.75 per week. Unlimited access to all of NK News: reporting, investigations, analysis The NK News Daily Update, an email newsletter to keep you in the loop Searchable archive of all content, photo galleries, special columns Contact NK News reporters with tips or requests for reporting Get unlimited access to all NK News content, including original reporting, investigations, and analyses by our team of DPRK experts. Subscribe now All major cards accepted. No commitments – you can cancel any time. © 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 Start your day with the North Korea stories that matter most – as selected by And how should we address you in correspondence? One more step! Please check your inbox, for an email we just sent you, and click on the confirmation message in it to get subscribed to our Daily News Update. Trending

Features

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

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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Flight of the Concorde? North Korea’s brief flirtation with supersonic airliners

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Daniel Salisbury

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