While Moscow and Pyongyang launch their first direct flights in decades, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s sister slams the door on any talks with South Korea. CNN’s Will Ripley breaks down why.

Moscow

For the first time since the mid-1990s, Russian tourists are able to fly directly from Moscow to Pyongyang, North Korea. The new service is operated by Russia's Nordwind Airlines using a US-made Boeing 777, as North Korea's own airline, Air Koryo, lacks aircraft capable of the long journey. Tickets for the inaugural flight have already sold out, highlighting demand for the route.

This development comes amid strengthening military and diplomatic ties between Russia and North Korea. While Russians can now travel the 4,000-mile route directly, no such flights are available from Seoul, South Korea, due to ongoing tensions and the absence of a peace treaty between the two Koreas. Relations between North and South Korea remain strained, despite South Korea's leadership expressing a desire for improved ties.

Russians can now fly to North Korea

Very few people get to see the view descending into the North Korean capital, but now Russian tourists can. For the first time since the mid-1990s, there are now direct commercial flights from Moscow to Pyongyang. For decades, the only way to fly into North Korea was a quick hop from Beijing or Vladivostok. It takes a couple of hours on vintage Soviet jets operated by Air Koryo. That's North Korea's only airline. I've made the trip 19 times. It's like stepping into a time machine. North Korea's aging fleet cannot make the 8-hour direct flight from Moscow, but now Russia's Nordwind Airlines will fly the route. And get this, they're using a US-made Boeing 777. Tickets? About 560 bucks. First flight? Already sold out. As military ties between Moscow and Pyongyang have strengthened in recent years, so have exchanges between their people. So Russians can now fly 4,000 miles direct from their capital to North Korea, but no trips are possible from South Korea's capital, Seoul, only about 120 miles away. How does that make sense? Well, it's complicated. North and South Korea are still technically at war. The Korean War in the 1950s ended with an armistice, but no peace deal, and the two sides are not talking right now. This is North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's younger sister and trusted aide Kim Yo-jong. She became the first known member of the ruling Kim family to visit South Korea since the armistice during the Winter Olympics in 2018. Since then, things have gone downhill. Even though South Korea's new president, Lee Jae-myung, says he wants to improve relations with the North, Kim's sister just issued a harsh statement saying in part,

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Breakdown