Page 3 - Primorye News Today

Russia's spy chief on Tuesday said a pilot who defected to Ukraine with a military helicopter and was reportedly shot dead in Spain last week was a "moral corpse".

The death of a Russian pilot who defected to Ukraine with a military helicopter was shrouded in mystery Tuesday, with Spanish authorities refusing to say if a bullet-riddled body found was his.

Pyongyang and Moscow are stepping up efforts to boost cultural exchanges as more Russian tourists are expected to visit the reclusive country next month.

The trip was a surprise to Asia observers, who had expected the first post-pandemic tourists to North Korea to come from China, the North’s biggest diplomatic ally and economic pipeline.

A group of Russian tourists arrived in North Korea on Friday, likely the first from any country to enter the isolated state since the pandemic.

According to Vladivostok airport's flight timetable, the group is travelling on a Tupolev Tu-154 jet, a workhorse of Soviet aviation but has been involved in a number of crashes.

The tourists are likely the first to visit the isolated country in years, since strict lockdown procedures were put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The first group of Russian tourists to visit North Korea since the pandemic has arrived in its capital, Pyongyang, as the isolated country offers tours to Russians who face obstacles to travel abroad during the war in Ukraine

The tour underscores deepening cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang, following a meeting between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin.  | World News

Some tourists plan to go skiing and snowboarding in the secretive country