North Korea Hosts First-Ever Air Show

Local Editor

Just weeks after carrying out its fifth nuclear test, North Korea put on an unprecedented civilian and military air force display Saturday at the country's first ever public aviation show.

The two-day Wonsan International Friendship Air Festival was held at the newly refurbished Kalma Airport -- previously a military airfield -- completed last year to boost tourism in the area around the eastern port city of Wonsan.

The airport is dual civilian and military use and has been recently reconstructed to serve as the gateway for the Mount Kumgang tourist zone, which is one of North Korea's primary international tourism attractions.

The festival was already scheduled before North Korea conducted its fifth nuclear test on Sept. 9, triggering international outrage and threats of still further sanctions against the deeply isolated nuclear-armed country.

The show itself will demonstrate planes of North Korea's only airline, Air Koryo, which has a fleet of aging soviet-made Antonov [An], Ilyushin [Il] and Tupolev [Tu] planes. The airline wants to purchase modern aircraft, which would not be banned from banned from flying over the European Union due to noise pollution regulations.

North Korean military pilots are to fly MiG and Su fighter jets as part of the festival.

The event also includes parachuting performances, a charity lottery organized by the International Red Cross and a host of cultural events like traditional folk sports, a beer festival and fireworks on Sunday.

Pyongyang's continued development of missiles and nuclear weapons resulted in heavy international sanctions, which restricts heavily its international trade. North Korea has few sources of foreign currency. Attracting foreign tourists is one of the ways the defiant country, which held its fifth nuclear test this month, is dealing with the shortage.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team