BEIJING • North Korea has agreed not to engage in activities hazardous to aviation without advance notice, a United Nations aviation agency official said yesterday, an assurance that could lead to major airlines resuming flights through its airspace.

Airlines take indirect routings to avoid North Korea due to the threat posed by unannounced missile launches that are worrisome in the wake of the 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 over Ukraine. If the airspace was deemed safe, carriers could save fuel and time on some routes between Asia and Europe and North America.

Officials from the Montreal-based International Civil Aviation Organisation (Icao) visited North Korea this week to discuss a request by Pyongyang to open a new air route through North Korean and South Korean airspace.

"We received a solid assurance from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea that they will not be engaging in activities hazardous for aviation without full advance notice for the other states in the region, and that they would coordinate that activity to ensure that we could retain safety," Icao Air Navigation Bureau director Stephen Creamer said.

Asked whether this meant international airlines would resume flights over North Korea, Icao regional director Arun Mishra said: "It's always a possibility... We're continuing towards establishing a (healthier) relationship."

It is the latest sign of practical reconciliation measures since the leaders of the two Koreas met last month for a first summit in years, and signed a pledge to pursue peace.

Mr Mark Zee of Flight Service Bureau, which provides safety information on airspace to airlines, said on Wednesday that North Korea had provided warnings of all missile launches until around 2014 but that gradually ended. By 2016, airlines avoided the airspace entirely.

He said a guarantee by North Korea would likely be enough for regulators to remove warnings. "It seems very likely that in the coming months, we will start to see international traffic start to use the Pyongyang FIR ( flight information region) again, and may even see some new airways being established," he said in a website post before the Icao meeting concluded.

REUTERS