The British Embassy
Pyongyang is the
British sovereign
The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional form of government by which a hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies (the Bailiwi ...
's
diplomatic mission to the
Democratic People's Republic of Korea
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and ...
, representing the
United Kingdom's interests.
It is located in the Munsu-dong diplomatic compound (in the
Taedonggang District), where most of the
diplomatic missions to North Korea are located, with the exception of the
Russian and
Chinese missions.
It shares a building with the
German,
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
and
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
missions to North Korea, in what was originally the
East German mission and was transferred to the government of the present Germany upon
German reunification
German reunification (german: link=no, Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) was the process of re-establishing Germany as a united and fully sovereign state, which took place between 2 May 1989 and 15 March 1991. The day of 3 October 1990 when the Ge ...
. The former East German embassy was established at a time when North Korea relied almost exclusively on the
Comecon Countries, along with China, for external trade.
History
The UK and North Korea had no formal diplomatic relations until 12 December 2000, when diplomatic missions in
London and Pyongyang were established.
James Hoare was ''
chargé d'affaires
A ''chargé d'affaires'' (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador ...
'' from 2001–02 until a permanent ambassador was appointed by the UK Government:
the first full-time accredited British diplomat was James Warren. The embassy itself opened in July 2001 and the first
ambassador
An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...
,
David Slinn, arrived in North Korea in November 2002.
Incidents
On 5 April 2013 the North Korean government advised the British Embassy, and all other missions, that the safety of their missions could not be assured past 10 April 2013. This was part of the North Korean government's response to
United Nations Security Council Resolution 2094 and deterioration of relations between
North Korea and the
United States.
In May 2020 the embassy was closed due to the
COVID-19 pandemic.
[ Some other countries had their diplomats evacuated earlier in March.]
See also
* List of ambassadors of the United Kingdom to North Korea
* List of diplomatic missions in North Korea
* Foreign relations of North Korea
References
External links
British Embassy Pyongyang
– ''gov.uk''
{{Diplomatic missions in North Korea
North Korea–United Kingdom relations
United Kingdom
Pyongyang