North Korean passenger planes and Kim Jong Un’s private jet appeared to be on the move at Pyongyang International Airport on Thursday, just hours after the country launched a long-range missile from the airport’s runway, according to NK Pro analysis of satellite imagery.

The activity once again raises questions about safety standards at the primary entryway for visitors to the country, given the dangers that missile launches pose to aircraft.

An Air Koryo Il-76 cargo plane also appeared at the airport of the northern city of Samjiyon on Friday morning, Planet Labs imagery shows. The activity marks the first detected flight of this type of aircraft since North Korea flew three of them to China last May.

The increased activity in recent days follows two weeks of quiet at the Pyongyang airport and a brief surge in plane movements in February. Air Koryo operates domestic flights occasionally, but the national carrier has been significantly less active since North Korea closed its borders to all international travel in Jan. 2020 as part of COVID-19 prevention measures.

MARCH 16 ACTIVITY 

DPRK leader Kim Jong Un took his daughter to watch a nuclear missile launch from the airport’s northern runway at 7:09 a.m. KST on Thursday. State TV footage showed that soldiers drove the Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on its launch vehicle out from a hangar across from the main terminal hours prior.

Planet Labs then took two images of the airport at 10:34 a.m. and 10:48 a.m., and Sentinel-2 took an image at 11:36 a.m. Some of the positions of 18 Air Koryo planes typically parked at the airport appeared different in all three images, showing they were active.

At 10:34 a.m., an Il-62, Tu-134 and An-24 all appeared missing. The small An-24 turboprop has not appeared in its usual spot since March 2, suggesting it has been inside a repair hangar at the airport or somewhere else and was not on the move on Thursday.

Comparison of images of Pyongyang International Airport taken on March 16 at 10:34 and 10:48 a.m. KST | Images: Planet Labs, edited by NK Pro (please reload page if images do not load)

Significantly, at 10:48, the Tu-134 appeared in the air just north of the main runway as separate red, green and blue images, indicating it was moving at high speed while taking off or landing due to the way Planet Labs satellites capture photos. 

Also at 10:48, the Il-62 reappeared near its typical parking spot, suggesting it landed or came out of a covered hangar within the previous 14 minutes.

At 11:36 a.m., the Tu-134 was missing again, suggesting it may have taken off earlier. 

The Il-62 appeared in a different position closer to the terminal than before, while Kim Jong Un’s private jet — another Il-62 that state media calls the “Chammae-1” — appeared in the lot outside the DPRK leader’s private hangar facilities, suggesting he may have flown somewhere after the missile launch or that workers were conducting maintenance or cleaning. 

Retired Boeing 777 pilot and aviation consultant Ed Condit told NK News after a similar launch last year that the use of Pyongyang International Airport runways soon after a missile test at the same facility poses a safety risk.

He said debris or chemicals could blow over and land on the runway, potentially interfering with any plane using the same grounds before crews have a chance of making a thorough inspection.

MARCH 17 ACTIVITY

Planet Labs imagery taken at 11:05 a.m. on Friday showed that the Tu-134 missing the previous day and Il-62 shown away from its parking spot were both back in their usual spots. One An-148 was also moving out from its parking lot and the An-24 missing over previous weeks appeared to be moving into the hangar area used for the previous day’s missile test. 

The An-24 did not appear in another image taken 11 minutes later, indicating it may have been inside one of the covered hangars, while the An-148 appeared to be driving into this same hangar area. 

Comparison of images of Pyongyang International Airport taken on March 17 at 11:05 and 11:16 a.m. KST | Images: Planet Labs, edited by NK Pro (please reload page if images do not load)

An Il-76 cargo plane — Air Koryo’s largest — was the only plane missing from the image, but another image taken at 11:18 a.m. showed it parked at the Samjiyon Airport in the north of the country near Mount Paektu. The purpose of this trip remains unclear.

Flight tracker websites did not appear to detect any of the Air Koryo activity in recent days. FlightRadar24 picked up two An-148 flights apparently between Pyongyang and Wonsan on Feb. 21.

Planet Labs satellite imagery also showed an Il-62 and Tu-134 missing the same day, and four planes — an Il-62, Tu-154, Tu-134, and Tu-204 — missing on Feb. 24, possibly related to bringing officials to the capital for a party plenum that started days later.

Edited by Bryan Betts