Korean carriers cut China flights on drop in demand, Yonhap says

South Korean airlines are temporarily suspending some flights to China as demand withers amid strained relations between the two countries, according to Yonhap News Agency.

Korean Air Lines Co. will halt its Gimpo-Beijing route from Aug. 1 through Oct. 28, Yonhap reported Saturday, citing industry sources it didn’t identify. The airline is also suspending flights from Gimpo to Xiamen and back starting Aug. 9 to Oct. 28, according to Yonhap.

Asiana Airlines Inc. will temporarily stop flights between Gimpo and Beijing from July 6 and suspend the Incheon-Shenzhen service starting July 8, according to the report. Asiana’s flights between Incheon and Xian have been halted since June 20, Yonhap said. All the flights will resume Oct. 28, Yonhap said.

Relations between Seoul and Beijing have soured since the South Korean government denounced China for committing a “serious diplomatic discourtesy” after a Chinese official said recent comments by President Yoon Suk Yeol on Taiwan amounted to verbal meddling, according to Yonhap News. Ties between the two countries have never fully recovered after China opposed the US deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense anti-missile defense system about six years ago.