European Countries Expected to Resume Operations of Embassies in North Korea After 4 Years

Moves to Reactivate Pyongyang Missions by the UK, Sweden, Switzerland, and Others

European countries including the United Kingdom and Sweden appear to be reopening their embassies in North Korea after four years. At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in January 2020, European countries fully withdrew their diplomatic missions from Pyongyang as North Korea strictly sealed off entry and exit.

On the 9th (local time), Russian group tourists were lined up waiting their turn in front of the international check-in counters at Vladivostok International Airport in Primorsky Krai, Russian Far East.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to major foreign media on the 28th (local time), the UK Foreign Office is discussing plans for a technical and diplomatic delegation to visit Pyongyang soon through the North Korean embassy in London. A spokesperson for the UK Foreign Office stated, "We welcome North Korea's move to allow some diplomats to return to Pyongyang and to reopen its borders," and said they have requested North Korea to permit entry for all diplomats, UN agencies, and international humanitarian NGOs.

Peter Semneby, Sweden’s Special Envoy for the Korean Peninsula, also mentioned some progress regarding the return to Pyongyang, expressing hope that "we will be able to return to the embassy soon." The Swiss Foreign Ministry is reportedly discussing a visit to North Korea to resume humanitarian projects under its development cooperation agency (SDC). Neutral Switzerland has maintained a permanent SDC office in Pyongyang since 1997 to carry out aid projects but withdrew the office in March 2020.

North Korea reopened its borders to outsiders in August last year but only allowed diplomats from pro-North countries such as China, Russia, Mongolia, and Cuba to work there. The movement to reopen Western embassies became more visible after a German Foreign Ministry delegation recently visited Pyongyang at the invitation of North Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A spokesperson for the German Foreign Ministry said, "We plan to stay for several days to inspect the German embassy premises, which had to be temporarily closed in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic."