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North Korea is the last place that many consider to be an international diplomatic hub, but the most isolated country in the world has a surprising number of foreign embassies.
Key points:
- Foreign embassies in North Korea are mainly in a special section of Pyongyang.
- Embassies are sovereign territory and diplomats enjoy immunity
- However, security can not be guaranteed due to the unpredictability of the scheme
Despite violations of human rights and nuclear tests, the "Hermit Kingdom" still maintains diplomatic relations with 164 countries, including 25 with embassies in the capital, Pyongyang, including the United Kingdom and Sweden .
John Blaxland, head of the Center for Strategic Studies and Defense at the Australian National University, said the diplomatic work in North Korea was different from that in another country.
"Diplomatic relations with North Korea are superficial, difficult and shallow," he said.
Mr. Blaxland added that foreign diplomats had very few opportunities to engage constructively with their counterparts in the country.
"It's very controlled and very frustrating for the people involved," he said.
"[Diplomats] are closely monitored, patrolled and controlled, which makes it difficult to carry out a significant portion of a diplomat's job of learning and reporting. "
"All lights turn off at 9:00 pm"
Andry Yuwono, a consular staff member at the Indonesian embassy in Pyongyang, told ABC that he had found a new home in North Korea with his family of four.
Mr. Yuwono said that he was free to talk to residents, use public transportation and travel around the capital with a government official. However, traveling beyond Pyongyang required special permission and some places are prohibited.
"What surprised me [when I first arrived] all the lights went out at 9:00 pm and we could not go to all the shops in the street, "he said.
Mr. Yuwono moved to North Korea with his wife and children in 2002.
Her son attended an international school in Pyongyang from kindergarten to high school with the other diplomatic children during this period, free of charge.
He stated that they were taught ten different school subjects and he praised the "international standard" educational system.
"Daily life is pretty routine … we can go to the market buy groceries, play at the park with locals, but we can not just take pictures at random."
"The lives of locals and expats here are very isolated, we live in an apartment with stable and guaranteed living conditions."
"We can always watch Indonesian television, although some channels," he said.
How are there so many foreign embassies in Pyongyang?
Most of the country's embassies are located in a special section of Pyongyang, the diplomatic precinct of Monsu-dong.
The three largest embassies – Russia, China and Pakistan – are located outside the compound.
Most diplomatic presences may be related to their historical relationship with Pyongyang.
Russia's and China's ties with North Korea date back to the Cold War, while those of Pakistan date back to the rise of anti-Americanism in the 1970s.
Countries with diplomatic missions in North Korea:
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Germany and India can also trace their links back to the Cold War and the Korean War.
For these countries, maintaining their open diplomatic mission is both economic and national security.
"Closing an embassy and trying to reopen it later is very expensive [security-wise] because there are all kinds of sensibilities inside the secure space in the precincts of an embassy, "said Professor Blaxland.
For example, the premises could be disrupted by the North Korean authorities.
"Once you give it up, it's no longer secure."
Instead of closing their doors, some countries have simply chosen to maintain a minimal presence in Pyongyang. For example, Indonesia has only four people working in its embassy.
Usually, consular work is established in a foreign country to assist citizens overseas, raising questions about the purpose of embassies in a country with a limited number of visitors and visitors. foreign nationals, such as North Korea.
However, Professor Blaxland added that diplomatic missions also explored trade opportunities, monitored and closed trade links after sanctions and also collected information in the field.
The first Western nation to open an embassy in North Korea is Sweden, which continues to maintain friendly ties with the country and has been providing support since 1975.
One of the last Western embassies to establish a presence in Pyongyang is the United Kingdom, which established its mission in 2002.
Despite the turbulent links between the two countries, it offers training in English and human rights to officials of the DPRK.
Meanwhile, the Indonesian Embassy was created as a result of its participation in the 1961 non-alignment movement, as well as friendly ties between former President Soekarno and Kim Il-sung .
Since then, he has retained the services of his embassy to maintain bilateral commercial, political, social and cultural relations.
"For a country that has a long historical connection with North Korea, Indonesia wants to help ease tensions in the Korean peninsula," ABC News Agency spokeswoman Hanna Andari told reporters. 39, Embassy of Indonesia in Pyongyang.
The Australian Mission was established in 1975 but has since closed
The ASEAN Regional Forum is also one of the few forums in which North Korea still participates, and the arrangements associated with this forum are also managed by the Embassy.
"Jakarta is the headquarters of the ASEAN Secretariat, so it is important that North Korea be present in Indonesia because of its links," said Professor Blaxland.
But countries like Australia, which are not physically present in North Korea, carry out diplomatic affairs via China or South Korea.
"The links between Australia and the DPRK do not warrant the establishment of resident representation at the moment," said a DFAT spokesman at the ABC.
The Australian Embassy in Pyongyang was established in April 1975 but closed a few months later due to a breakdown in diplomatic relations.
Meanwhile, the North Korean Embassy in Canberra was closed in 2008 after the Pong Su incident in 2003 when a North Korean cargo ship had been taken with 125 kilograms of cargo. heroin in Australian waters.
So, is it safe to be a diplomat in North Korea?
According to the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, foreign embassies are considered to be diplomatic safe zones in that they are free from search and considered as sovereign territories – the residence of Julian Assange at the Embassy of Ecuador in London is an example.
The clauses of the convention are generally respected internationally because of mutual political reciprocity and mutual acceptance of the mutual benefits derived from the transparency of relations.
"Diplomats have a certain level of security and protection – it would be counterproductive for [host countries] threaten the safety of diplomats, "said Professor Blaxland.
However, in very rare cases, this reciprocity may deteriorate. a typical example is the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis when the US embassy was stormed.
"As long as you follow the instructions [of mutual reciprocity]you have a level of security, "said Professor Blaxland.
"But that does not mean it's not possible.
"Let's not forget that Kim Jong-un is a man who has probably murdered his half-brother and uncle."
However, Mr. Yuwono, a member of the Embassy of Indonesia, said that to date, he had not encountered any problems since arriving in North Korea there are more than ten years.
"Personally, I find that living in a very safe country is a crime rate close to zero," he said.
"Poverty is still below average, but I recommend that the country can support itself."
Topics:
Government and politics,
world politics,
Democratic People's Republic of Korea,
Asia
