Air China suspends flights to Pyongyang

Air China has decided to suspend its flights between Beijing and North Korean capital Pyongyang.

The suspension of service will go into effect from Monday, according to the Chinese state media.

A representative of Air China told CNN that the temporary suspension was done due to weak sales.

The suspension comes in the wake of rising tensions in the peninsula. North Korea has been facing pressure from the United States to curtail its programs related to the development of nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities.

China, on the other hand, acts as an economic bedrock for North Korea.

The biggest source of foreign currency for North Korea stands to be China, to which it sells millions of tons of coal.

 

Earlier on Tuesday, US President Donald Trump, in a series of tweets, called on China to "solve the North Korean problem".

Trump tweeted, "I explained to the President of China that a trade deal with the U.S. will be far better for them if they solve the North Korean problem!"

However, a miffed North Korea's response was a warning of a "merciless" response to any move by the "reckless" Trump government, according to a North Korean Army spokesperson's statement to state-run news agency KCNA.

In the latest, China has warned North Korea of a war as a reaction to its "merciless" response to the US.