The Ministry of Foreign Affairs plans to restore the functioning of the Polish embassy in North Korea, which was evacuated in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ministry officials went to Pyongyang on a reconnaissance mission, the Ministry of Diplomacy said on Friday.
The Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced in a statement about plans to reopen the Polish embassy in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Representatives of the ministry are on a reconnaissance mission to Pyongyang in this regard.
“The visit is of a technical and political nature and one of its main goals is to restore the permanent diplomatic presence of the Republic of Poland in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea,” the ministry said.
As indicated, the embassy is currently resuming its work in a temporary headquarters, with limited staff, and the head of the facility is a professional diplomat, an employee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with the rank of chargé d'affaires. “At the same time, the visit is intended to examine the technical condition of the seat of the Polish Embassy in Pyongyang, which will be the starting point for carrying out necessary renovation works in the near future,” added the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In a statement, the ministry recalled that the Polish embassy in Pyongyang was evacuated in December 2020, when the North Korean authorities announced the complete closure of state borders due to the epidemic. COVID-19which – as indicated – prevented the proper functioning of the diplomatic mission and resulted in the suspension of the embassy's work.
“Apart from Poland, the only Western country present in Pyongyang is Sweden, which resumed the operation of its diplomatic mission in the DPRK in September this year.” – added in the announcement.
Diplomatic relations with North Korea
Poland has maintained diplomatic relations with the DPRK since 1948. “Under the Korean Peace Treaty (signed after the end of the Korean War – PAP) of July 27, 1953, Poland is a member of the Supervisory Commission of Neutral Countries and has been involved in stabilizing the security situation on the Peninsula for years. Korean, including by maintaining relations with both Korean countries,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
Too North Korea has maintained its embassy in Poland since 1948. Its headquarters is located in Warsaw's Mokotów district. After the democratic changes of 1989, Poland also established diplomatic relations with South Korea (Republic of Korea).
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