MONTREAL, Canada (AFP)–North Korea has asked the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) for permission to open an air corridor to South Korea, the UN agency said Friday.
The proposal to establish a new “air traffic services” corridor between Pyongyang and the South Korean city of Incheon, near Seoul, was submitted to the ICAO’s regional offices in Bangkok, Thailand in February, the agency said in an email to AFP.
The ICAO, which is headquartered in Montreal, said it conveyed the proposal to South Korea’s civil aviation authorities, “indicating (the) ICAO’s willingness to facilitate and support further discussions.”
“The request is presently under their consideration,” it added.
Next week, an ICAO delegation led by Pacific Regional Director Arun Mishra and Director of Air Navigation Bureau Stephen Creamer will travel to North Korea to further discuss the proposal, along with “other air navigation and safety matters.”
A recent meeting between North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in signalled a spectacular detente after months of tensions over Pyongyang’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs, and has fed hopes of a historic turning point in the region.
A summit between US President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un is also set to take place in the coming weeks, after decades of hostility between Pyongyang and Washington.
