North Korea and Russia will begin operating direct flight service linking their capital cities of Pyongyang and Moscow later this month, Russia's Transport Ministry announced.

Russia will launch direct passenger flights from Moscow to North Korea 's capital Pyongyang on Sunday, Russian authorities said, as the two former communist bloc allies move to improve ties following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

As another sign of deepening bilateral relations, Russia is set to launch direct passenger flights from Moscow to Pyongyang on July 27, marking the first air connection between the two capitals in decades.