A foreign plane has appeared at North Korea’s main capital airport after apparently hiding its location data, according to NK Pro analysis, in a possible sign that military exchanges with Russia are continuing in the new year. 

Planet Labs satellite imagery shows 19 planes at Pyongyang International Airport just before noon Wednesday — one more than the 18 known aircraft of national carrier Air Koryo that are typically parked there.

The plane appeared to be at least 165 feet (50 meters) long, though its precise measurements are unknown since the imagery is not high-resolution. 

No foreign airlines have operated flights to North Korea since before the pandemic, when Air China was the only one, and a commercial flight would represent a major step toward reopening the country to foreign tourism. 

But as tracking services FlightRadar24 and ADS-B Exchange did not pick up any flights into Pyongyang in recent days, it is unlikely that it was a foreign commercial airline. 

It is more likely that it was a government or military flight, probably from Russia, following dozens of such flights in the last year.

Many of these trips have gone unannounced and without any state media coverage, suggesting they involved sensitive military personnel.

The flights have coincided with Pyongyang and Moscow ramping up military cooperation and as the DPRK has sent missiles and thousands of troops to fight in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

Another Russian military flight to Pyongyang could be related to Russia’s efforts to pay back that aid, such as by sending a technical delegation to help with weapons or satellite development.

• READ MORE: Russian weapons specialists linger in North Korea, possibly to visit factories

It could also involve general military or weapons negotiations, ferrying North Korean generals to and from the front lines or even repatriating dead or injured DPRK soldiers. 

The particular plane captured in satellite imagery on Wednesday appeared parked in front of the airport terminal, however, suggesting it involved the transport of a delegation or other passengers instead of sensitive cargo.

It’s possible state media could still report on the flight in the coming days if it was related to a less sensitive delegation, like one related to last year’s agreement on cultural and economic exchanges.

Edited by Bryan Betts