Japan allows N. Korea charters

THE Ministry of Transport has started accepting applications from airlines that are planning to open charter flight services from Japan to North Korea, following the lifting of the ban.

Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Soichiro Matsutani said the ban, which was imposed after Pyongyang rocket launch testing in August last year, was lifted after North Korea reached an agreement with the United States not to conduct any further missile tests.

"We decided to resume the charter flights to contribute to the strengthening of the flow toward improvement in US-North Korea ties ... (and) lead to better relations between Japan and North Korea," he said.