(LEAD) Air China to resume Beijing-Pyongyang route amid improved diplomatic ties

(ATTN: ADDS resumption of Air Koryo's Pyongyang-Shanghai route in 4th para)

BEIJING, June 5 (Yonhap) -- China's national carrier will resume flights between Beijing and Pyongyang this week amid improved Sino-North Korea ties, a company official said Tuesday.

Starting Wednesday, Air China will provide three flights per week on the route that it suspended on Nov. 21 last year. Relations soured last year as Beijing, angered by Pyongyang's nuclear and missile tests, backed a series of United Nations' sanctions against its ally.

The official told Yonhap News Agency that it will resume the service because of increased demand for the route.

North Korea's flag carrier Air Koryo also resumed its Pyongyang-Shanghai route on Thursday, providing two flights per week. The route had been suspended from October to March and was temporarily operated twice in April.

The development follows a drastic improvement in relations between China and North Korea. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un traveled to China to meet President Xi Jinping in March and in June ahead of Kim's landmark summit with U.S. President Donald Trump scheduled for next Tuesday.

namsh@yna.co.kr
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