Kim Jong-un congratulates the queen on her birthday… Queen Elizabeth II celebrates the establishment of the North Korean regime
North Korea and Britain established diplomatic ties in 2000… Possibility of attending the funeral of Ambassador Choe Il to the UK
The relationship between the two countries is drawing attention as the British government reportedly invited North Korea to the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.
According to Archyde.com on the 14th (local time), an official from the British Foreign Ministry said that North Korea had been invited to the Queen’s coat of arms to be observed at Westminster Abbey in London on the 19th.
North Korea is also expected to respond.
This is because North Korean leader Kim Jong-un maintained a seemingly friendly relationship with Queen Elizabeth II by exchanging congratulatory messages.
Kim Jong-un drew attention by sending a polite congratulatory message at the ‘Platinum Jubilee’ to commemorate the 70th anniversary and birthday of Queen Elizabeth II in June.
In a congratulatory message published on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the time, he said, “I send congratulations to you and the returning people on the occasion of the official anniversary of Your Majesty’s birthday, the National Day of your return.”
Queen Elizabeth II also sent a congratulatory message to Kim Jong-un on the 73rd anniversary of the establishment of the regime in North Korea last year (September 9), saying, “As the people of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea celebrate national holidays, I also wish good things in the future.”
Also, from Kim Jong-un’s point of view, he may send a person appropriate to the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II to use it as an opportunity to emphasize the image of a ‘normal state’.
In his address to the Supreme People’s Assembly on the 8th, Kim Jong-un said, “We should seek diplomatic warfare to develop multi-faceted exchanges and cooperation with capitalist countries that respect and treat our country friendly.”
North Korea has not commented on the death of Queen Elizabeth II so far.
If North Korea decides to attend the funeral, it seems highly likely that it will send the first ambassador to the UK to be sent to the UK while the border is still closed due to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).
The two countries formally established diplomatic relations in December 2000, and a British embassy was opened in Pyongyang the following year, and a North Korean embassy was opened in London in 2003.
New Malden, home to the Korean community in the UK, is also the second most populous city for North Korean defectors following South Korea, China and the United States.
It is known that regarding 800 North Koreans have settled near New Malden.
However, it is difficult to see that the two countries are close politically and economically.
Whenever North Korea fires a ballistic missile, the UK issued a statement condemning it, and as a permanent member of the Security Council, it is active in sanctions once morest North Korea.
Last year, North Korea was re-designated as a ‘human rights priority country’ with poor human rights situation.
Then, the North Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement in the name of the Chosun-European Association, pointing out the UK refugee problem and the Corona 19 situation, and protested, saying, “Correct the poor human rights situation in my family first.”
There are not many economic exchanges.
According to the British Ministry of International Trade (DIT)’s report on trade and investment in North Korea, from October 2020 to September last year, the UK’s trade with North Korea amounted to only £49 million (regarding 78.1 billion won).
The amount of foreign direct investment (FDI) that flowed into North Korea from the UK in 2020 was 1 million pounds (regarding 1.6 billion won), and the amount of FDI that entered the UK from North Korea in the same year was ‘less than 1 million pounds’.
Meanwhile, Ambassador Colin Crooks, who took office as the British ambassador to Korea in February, served as the Pyongyang ambassador from the end of 2018 to last year.
The British Embassy in North Korea has been withdrawn since May 2020.
/yunhap news
