Reuters reported on February 28 that a delegation from the German Foreign Ministry is currently in the North Korean capital Pyongyang on a trip to conduct technical checks before the embassy can reopen.
"They plan to inspect the site where the German Embassy is located within a few days," a German Foreign Ministry spokesman said, noting that Berlin has yet to decide on resuming operations at the diplomatic mission, which closed in March 2020.
Many embassies in Pyongyang have closed because they have been unable to rotate staff or transport supplies during the Covid-19 pandemic. North Korea has imposed some of the world's strictest anti-epidemic measures and has only recently begun to ease international travel restrictions.
A scene from a celebration in Pyongyang in early February
Reuters quoted a British Foreign Office spokesman as saying that London was also looking to send a delegation to Pyongyang. Britain closed its embassy and withdrew all diplomatic staff from North Korea in May 2020.
"We are pleased that some diplomats have returned to Pyongyang and welcome the move by North Korea to reopen the border... We are in discussions with the North Korean government through their embassy in London to promptly arrange a visit by a British diplomatic and technical delegation," the spokesman said.
A British Foreign Office spokesman also revealed that London has called on Pyongyang to allow the international community, including all diplomats, United Nations agencies and non-governmental humanitarian organizations, to return to North Korea.
Peter Semneby, Sweden's special envoy for the Korean peninsula, told Reuters there had been some progress in efforts to return Swedish diplomats to Pyongyang, but declined to give details because of the sensitivity of the discussions.
"There have been some developments and we hope to be able to re-establish our embassy soon," Reuters quoted Mr. Semneby as saying.
Kim Jong-un's sister talks about the possibility of Japanese Prime Minister visiting North Korea
An unnamed diplomat noted that the closed facilities would need to be cleaned for any eavesdropping devices, as well as exterminated and renovated after a period of abandonment.
According to NK Pro, a research organization specializing in monitoring North Korea based in Seoul (South Korea), as of January 2023, 9 countries have operating embassies in Pyongyang.
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