German Diplomat, First Western Visitor to North Korea After 'COVID Lockdown'... "Exchanged Views with China"

Martin Dummel, Director General of the German Foreign Ministry, Visits North Korea

An official from the German Foreign Ministry visited North Korea at the invitation of the North Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

This is the first time since North Korea closed its borders amid the COVID-19 pandemic in January 2020 that a Western country's diplomat's visit to North Korea has been made public.

According to the Chinese Embassy in North Korea on the 26th, Feng Chuntai, a Chinese counselor, met with Martin T?mmel, Director for East Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific at the German Foreign Ministry, on the same day.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

The Chinese Embassy explained, "T?mmel and his delegation visited North Korea under the organization and arrangement of the North Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs."

The embassy added, "Both sides exchanged views on matters of mutual interest," and noted that officials from the German Embassy in China were also present at the meeting.

After North Korea closed its borders in January 2020 amid the spread of COVID-19, it controlled the entry and exit of foreign personnel for over three years, before welcoming a Russian military delegation and a Chinese party-government delegation to Pyongyang in July last year.

In particular, exchanges with China have become active this year, marking the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations.

Until this day, there had been no reports of Western country diplomats visiting North Korea, other than those from Russia and China.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.