Air Koryo (JS, Pyongyang) could be under US State Department investigation as part of a broader crack down on enterprises accused of aiding the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's (DPRK or North Korea) nuclear programme.

According to South Korea's KBS TV, the State Department's sanctions policy coordinator Daniel Fried told a US Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs hearing on Wednesday,September 28, that diplomatic pressure had reduced the number of countries willing to allow Air Koryo to land at their airports. The countries involved were not specified.

The US suspects Air Koryo of aiding the North Korean military through the transport of weapons of mass destruction and the funneling of illegal funds sent by its workers overseas.

North Korea's relations with the international community have deteriorated over the past year following two nuclear tests in January and September as well as the launch of several ballistic missiles. The events violated the terms of United Nations' (UN) resolutions already in place to curtail Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programme.

In a bid to further cripple the ruling regime, the UN this year prohibited member states from selling or supplying aviation fuel to North Korea so that it cannot be diverted to its ballistic missile program. In addition, UN member states and their nationals have also been prohibited from leasing or chartering locally-registered aircraft, or providing crew services, to the DPRK.

Aside from internal flights, Air Koryo's scheduled international operations are limited to China and Russia.