[Yonhap News Photo]
North Korea has featured a flight crew of its flag carrier Air Koryo in a 2017 calendar of the communist country, obtained Thursday by Yonhap News Agency, in what is seen as an unprecedented move to revitalize its tourism industry amid international sanctions imposed over its nuclear and missile developments.
The calendar published by the state-run the Korea Publications Export and Import Corp. has the cover showing the airline's two pilots and five flight attendants.
The cover of a North Korean calendar for 2017, obtained by Yonhap News Agency in Shenyang, China, on Dec. 29, 2016, features pilots and flight attendants of its flag carrier Air Koryo.
It carries scenes of the cabin crew at work such as arriving at an airport, giving safety instructions and offering in-flight meals, with the August side showing a flight attendant pouring the country's own brand of beer, Taedonggang.
"It is the first time a North Korean calendar carries photos of female flight attendants, way different from previous calendars that mostly carried bland photos of scenic views and cultural sites," a source knowledgeable about North Korean affairs said.
The North's production of the calendar is interpreted as a move to overcome a foreign currency shortage by drawing more foreign tourists to the country at a time it has faced growing economic sanctions imposed by the international community over its nuclear and missile programs.
(Yonhap)
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
