Pyongyang International Airport welcomed flights from foreign airlines for the first time in over three years last week, including a Chinese plane that left and then returned again to North Korea, in a sign that authorities have shed their fundamental fears about the spread of COVID-19. 

The aircraft carrying Russian and Chinese delegations notably touched down amid the DPRK military’s frequent use of the airport as a missile test center throughout the pandemic and as recently as a week before their arrival.

The Russian and Chinese delegations visited to meet with leader Kim Jong