India installs its first envoy in North Korea since pandemic

Home > World > World

Published: 14 Nov. 2025, 09:18

Russian Ambassador Alexandr Matsegora, left, shakes hands with Aliawati Longkumer, India's new ambassador to North Korea, during their meeting in Pyongyang on Nov. 12, in this photo from the Telegram account of the Russian Embassy in North Korea. [YONHAP]

A new Indian ambassador to North Korea has taken office, marking the return of an Indian envoy to Pyongyang for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the North's state media on Friday.

Aliawati Longkumer, India's new ambassador to North Korea, presented his letter of credence to parliamentary standing committee chairman Choe Ryong-hae in Pyongyang the previous day, the Korean Central News Agency reported.

It marks the first time an Indian ambassador has been present in North Korea since its embassy closed in July 2021 in the aftermath of the pandemic. India reopened the embassy in the North last year as COVID-19 subsided.

India established formal diplomatic relations with North Korea in 1973, the same year it did so with South Korea.

Yonhap