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Germany rejects new North Korean envoy designate

Posted July. 15, 2016 07:01,   

Updated July. 15, 2016 07:45

한국어
Ri Si Hong, the North Korean ambassador to Germany who was summoned to Pyongyang, could not return home, as Berlin has rejected North Korea's new envoy designate. North Korea reportedly tried to summon Ri for having failed to prevent Germany from denouncing the North’s nuclear test in April.

Radio Free Asia reported Thursday that Berlin recently rejected Pyongyang's request for an approval for its new ambassador designate who was set to replace Ri. The radio reported that Ri would resume his ambassadorial duties after returning from Pyongyang. Observers speculated that Germany rejected diplomatic agreement for the new envoy designate because of his possible involvement in unlawful activities in the past or violation of international sanctions on the North.

A diplomatic source said it was the first time that a host country rejected a senior North Korean envoy, although there had been precedents in which North Korean diplomats were expelled for violation of United Nations sanctions.

The North Korean embassy in Germany, the largest among the North’s overseas missions, had been on an uncomfortable terms with the German government, as Berlin expelled some North Korean diplomats for renting out some parts of the embassy building to earn money. A diplomatic source said that renting out embassy properties for profits is in violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, adding that if there were any illegal activities involved, it could also be in violation of the U.N. Security Council’s Resolutions 2270 on sanctioning North Korea.



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