Government wants North Korea plane info 'urgently'

The Hamilton-made plane at the airshow in North Korea (supplied)
The Hamilton-made plane at the airshow in North Korea (supplied)

Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully is demanding answers urgently regarding a Hamilton-made plane that ended up at a North Korean air show.

The Pacific Aerospace P-750 XSTOL was part of the Wonsan International Friendship Air Festival last week, among fighter jets and helicopters.

Its tail was emblazoned with the isolated communist nation's flag. It's understood it got there from a customer in China who on purchased the plan from Pacific Aerospace and on-sold it.

"The Government has sought a more detailed explanation as to how this plane came to be in North Korea and painted in its colours, and what it has been doing there," Mr McCully says.

"MFAT is working to get answers urgently."

It's illegal for Kiwi companies to sell goods and services to the isolated totalitarian state, and Mr McCully says there are serious penalties for those who do intentionally.

"We expect that our companies will abide by the letter and spirit of UN sanctions, especially in this context with a country that continues to defy UN Security Council resolutions and behave very provocatively," he says.

"At this stage, we understand that the aircraft was not exported to North Korea from New Zealand, which would have been in breach of New Zealand law."

Newshub.