Air China cancels some Pyongyang flights

China's national airline has denied a state media report that all flights to the North Korea capital Pyongyang had been cancelled.

The Air China flight bound for Beijing made an unscheduled landing in the central Chinese city of Zhengzhou on Sunday. Source: AAP

China's national airline, Air China, says it has cancelled some flights to the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, due to poor demand but has not suspended all flights there, denying a report by Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.

CCTV had reported that all flights run by the airline between the two cities were to be suspended indefinitely.

"Air China did not stop operation of the Beijing to Pyongyang route, but temporarily cancelled some flights based on the situation of ticket sales," a person in Air China's communications team said on Friday.

Subsequent flights would be scheduled according to ticket sales, the official said.

Air China's flights, which operate on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, began in 2008 but have frequently been cancelled due to unspecified problems, CCTV's report said.

China is North Korea's sole major ally but disapproves of the North's weapons programs and confrontations with the United States and its Asian allies. China has supported UN sanctions against North Korea.

Following repeated missile tests that drew international criticism, China banned all imports of North Korean coal on February 26, cutting off the country's most important export product.