Return to Pyongyang put off by many foreign envoys

North Korea

Published: 24 Aug. 2022, 17:34

Return to Pyongyang put off by many foreign envoys

Russian Ambassador to North Korea Alexander Matsegora waves good-bye to Russian diplomats departing Pyongyang. The photo was uploaded to the Facebook page of the Russian Embassy in Pyongyang on July 29, 2020. [YONHAP]

Foreign diplomats assigned to Pyongyang are unlikely to return soon despite the North's recent declaration of victory over the Covid-19 virus.

Large numbers of diplomats posted to Pyongyang left over the course of the pandemic as the country’s self-imposed blockade from January 2020 made it difficult to get basic necessities.

Currently, diplomats from only eight countries — Russia, China, Cuba, Egypt, Laos, Mongolia, Syria and Vietnam — remain in their residences in the diplomatic complex in Munsu-dong, Pyongyang.

In response to a written inquiry by Voice of America, the Polish Foreign Ministry said Tuesday, “We cannot verify the statement (by North Korean authorities) regarding the epidemic situation in North Korea. At this stage, no decision has been made regarding the return of employees to the North Korean capital.”

Polish diplomats working at the embassy in Pyongyang were recalled in August 2020.

Sweden’s Foreign Ministry said in response to the VOA inquiry, “We are closely monitoring North Korea's Covid-19-related progress alongside the United Nations and other related countries. However, it is difficult to confirm (that North Korea has the virus under control) at this stage.”

Swedish diplomats in Pyongyang returned to Stockholm in August 2020.

In its response, the Swedish Foreign Ministry said its embassy in Pyongyang maintains operations with local employees, adding that its diplomats “are ready to return to Pyongyang as soon as the situation allows.”

Although North Korean leader Kim Jong-un declared victory over the domestic Covid-19 outbreak on Aug. 10, the country’s state-controlled media have urged its people to maintain vigilance in case the virus begins spreading again, or a new disease is introduced from abroad.

The Rodong Sinmun, a newspaper controlled by the ruling Workers’ Party, published a report on Wednesday warning that a newly identified zoonotic henipavirus, recently discovered in the eastern Chinese provinces of Shandong and Henan, could “portend another pandemic.”

North Korea claimed until May this year that it had not recorded a single case of Covid-19.

Even after it finally acknowledged a viral outbreak in May, it described suspected coronavirus infections as “fever symptoms” and positively confirmed only a fraction of them as Covid cases, possibly due to a lack of test kits.

External observers believe that mass rallies and parades marking key regime anniversaries in April and May could have contributed to the spread, particularly in Pyongyang, where the largest celebrations were held.

Pyongyang has rejected outside offers of vaccines, but observers noted North Korean planes taking off from China during its initial outbreak period in May — a highly unusual occurrence given the country’s self-imposed blockade — which suggests the aircraft were carrying health supplies to help the regime cope with the virus.

It is likely that most countries’ diplomatic missions in Pyongyang will remain closed or operate only with local staff until the Covid-19 situation in the North Korea can be objectively verified.

Jung Yoo-suk, an economic researcher at the North Korea divisions of the Industrial Bank of Korea’s Economic Research Institute, said, “Foreign countries and international organizations that employ local workers to operate their Pyongyang offices will be monitoring the local Covid-19 situation through such staff.”

BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]