US blocks North Korea efforts to improve civil aviation: report

The US has reportedly blocked an effort by North Korea to allow commercial air travel within its airspace at a United Nations agency. Sources said that the Trump administration pressured the ICAO to drop plans with North Korea to open a new air route that would travel through both North Korean and South Korean airspace. According to the sources, the effort was seen as the beginning steps of a potential effort by North Korea to revive the country's commercial airline industry, which has been stymied by ICAO regulations that direct planes to avoid North Korea due to the threat of unscheduled weapons tests. One source said that the purpose of the Trump administration's move was to block North Korea from reaping rewards of closer ties with the West until it took concrete action to dissolve its nuclear weapons program. <br/>