Air China suspends North Korea flights due to poor business

An Air China Airbus A330-300 (Photo By Shimin Gu, GFDL 1.2)

BEIJING — State-owned airline Air China has suspended flights between Beijing and North Korea due to a lack of demand, deepening the North’s isolation amid mounting U.N. sanctions over its nuclear and missile programs.

An employee of the airline’s press office who would give only his surname, Zhang, said Tuesday flights were “temporarily suspended due to unsatisfactory business operations.”

Zhang said the last flight was Monday and he didn’t know when they might resume.

Beijing has supported U.N. sanctions meant to pressure the government of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to drop its pursuit of nuclear and missile technology but has argued against measures that might harm the country’s public.