Chinese Planes Are Cancelling Flights to Pyongyang

by:Ben Marquis 

Whether North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un realizes it or not, the situation is looking pretty grim for him and his communist regime, as even their sole major ally, China, has grown weary of Kim’s activities.
The Wall Street Journal reported that all flights on China’s flagship carrier China Airlines between Beijing and the North Korean capital of Pyongyang have been “temporarily suspended,” a likely euphemism for “we’re scared Trump is going to finally put Kim in his place and don’t want our citizens to get hurt.”
A booking operator for Air China said that notice of the flight suspensions was issued Friday and that flights between the two cities probably wouldn’t resume before the end of May.

Regular flights between Beijing and Pyongyang began in 2008 and typically occur three times per week, though flights have been cancelled previously for various reasons.
It is worth noting that while Air China is the only Chinese carrier to service direct flights between the mainland and the peninsula, North Korea’s state-run Air Koryo operates direct flights to several Chinese cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Shenyang and the border city of Dandong.
Though initial reports stated that the flights had been cancelled altogether, Reuters reported that Air China made it clear the flights had only been temporarily suspended due to lack of ticket sales and would eventually resume at an unspecified date.

But, as we all know, Air China will say whatever the Chinese Communist government wants, and blaming poor ticket sales is a perfectly reasonable cover for a government that’s scared Trump will finally do what is necessary to take out Kim once and for all.
“Air China did not stop operation of the Beijing to Pyongyang route, but temporarily canceled some flights based on the situation of ticket sales,” a spokesperson for Air China said.
The spokesperson added that flights would likely resume as needed whenever ticket sales improved.
What do you want to bet that “whenever ticket sales improve” will be once the U.S. has settled matters on the peninsula?

But even if Air China is being truthful about ticket sales, that in itself is a measure of just how worried the Chinese are that KJU’s regime (and his own days) are ticking down quickly.
According to a report from the U.K. Daily Star, there are increasing fears that a military confrontation is on the verge of occurring.
In fact, mere hours before the announcement from Air China, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi publicly cautioned that war could break out on the Korean peninsula “at any moment.”

During a news conference Yi stated that drastic action would likely be required to halt the “irreversible route” the world seemed to be heading toward, adding, “If a war occurs, the result is a situation in which everybody loses and there can be no winner.”
That announcement makes perfect sense in light of the U.S.’ overdue strong rhetoric coming from a Trump administration bent on avoiding the massive mistakes the Obama White House made. Secretary Mattis himself has said that North Korea must change its behavior, with an implied “or else” indicated by the U.S. military build up in the region.

It is thought that the North Korean dictator could be planning another major test of his nuclear missile program this weekend, which could draw a military response from both China and U.S. military assets positioned strategically in the region.