A Chinese budget carrier, Spring Airlines Co., has delayed its plan to fly to the North Korean capital of Pyongyang, citing "market conditions," a company official said Thursday.

The Chinese carrier had originally planned to begin scheduled flights to Pyongyang from February, but the decision to delay the plan came after North Korea's fourth nuclear test on Jan. 6 and rocket launch about a month later.

An official of Spring Airlines in Shanghai, who spoke on the condition of anonymity by telephone, said the decision was not related to new UN sanctions against North Korea's nuclear test and rocket launch, both of which violated previous U.N. resolutions.

"The plan was postponed for the time being because of a market condition and our transportation capacity," the official said.

Spring Airlines won regulatory approval to launch flights to Pyongyang on Jan. 12, according to China's civil aviation authorities.

Asked whether the airline could begin flights to Pyongyang in the second-half of this year, the official replied, "No decision has been made."

China, which backed the new UN resolution against North Korea, has said it would earnestly implement the new sanctions, but stressed that they should not affect the livelihood of North Korean people.

Still, China is unlikely to put crippling economic sanctions on North Korea because a sudden collapse of the regime could spark a refugee crisis at its border and lead to a pro-U.S. and democratic Korea on its doorstep, analysts say.

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