North Koreans shield their eyes from the sun as they watch an aerial display on Saturday, September 24, 2016, in Wonsan, North Korea. North Korea opened an air festival featuring sky diving, air force demonstrations and lots of beer Saturday to promote a newly renovated and upgraded airport in the coastal city of Wonsan, an area where it hopes to draw more foreign tourists. The two-day International Friendship Air Festival has been touted for months by the North as part of its ongoing effort to draw more tourists. The Wonsan area with its beaches and rugged mountain scenery, including a ski resort, is already popular with Chinese tourists and in the past attracted many Japanese, who came by ferry. Japanese visits dropped off abruptly as political relations deteriorated over revelations that North Korea had abducted more than a dozen Japanese people in the 1970s and 80s and then over its nuclear weapons and long-range missile programs. The new Wonsan airport features a sparkling terminal building with cafes, shops and an airy, glass-walled modern design. Aircraft from the national flag-carrier, Air Koryo, were lined up on the tarmac in a static display. A Hughes 500 helicopter, modified for military use, started off the show with a low-to-ground display of hovering and aerobatic techniques. A MiG-29, a Russian fighter jet, roared over the crowd to loud roars of cheers and applause, and another Russian-made ground attack fighter flew later in the morning. Thousands of Koreans turned out for the opening, along with a crowd of foreign journalists and tourists invited to attend the event. (Photo by Wong Maye-E/AP Photo)
North Koreans wave as Hughes MD-500 helicopters fly past during an aerial display on Saturday, September 24, 2016, in Wonsan, North Korea. North Korea on Saturday opened an air festival featuring sky diving, demonstrations by its air force and lots of beer to promote a newly renovated and upgraded commercial airport in the coastal city of Wonsan that it hopes will draw for foreign tourists. (Photo by Wong Maye-E/AP Photo)
North Koreans watch an aerial display on Saturday, September 24, 2016, in Wonsan, North Korea. (Photo by Wong Maye-E/AP Photo)
North Korean women carrying parasols wave as Hughes MD-500 helicopters fly past during an aerial display on Saturday, September 24, 2016, in Wonsan, North Korea. (Photo by Wong Maye-E/AP Photo)
North Koreans watch an aerial display on Saturday, September 24, 2016, in Wonsan, North Korea. (Photo by Wong Maye-E/AP Photo)
North Korean men walk on the tarmac of the newly renovated Kalma Airport on Saturday, September 24, 2016, in Wonsan, North Korea. (Photo by Wong Maye-E/AP Photo)
A North Korean military soldier stands guard as North Koreans wave flags and cheer during an aerial display on Saturday, September 24, 2016, in Wonsan, North Korea. (Photo by Wong Maye-E/AP Photo)
A North Korean man stands under the shade of a tent during an aerial display on Saturday, September 24, 2016, in Wonsan, North Korea. (Photo by Wong Maye-E/AP Photo)
North Koreans watch a Hughes MD-500 helicopter fly past during an aerial display on Saturday, September 24, 2016, in Wonsan, North Korea. (Photo by Wong Maye-E/AP Photo)
A waitress serves beers during an air festival on Saturday, September 24, 2016, in Wonsan, North Korea. (Photo by Wong Maye-E/AP Photo)
A North Korean man eats an ice-cream at the venue of the air festival on Saturday, September 24, 2016, in Wonsan, North Korea. (Photo by Wong Maye-E/AP Photo)
24 Sep 2016 10:51:00,
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