Author: Robert Břešťan, HlidaciPes.org, Czech republic
Russian shells, many of which are made in the DPRK, have recently fallen on Ukrainian soldiers and civilians. The totalitarian North Korean regime is profiting from Russia’s war, supplying Russia with know-how to successfully circumvent sanctions in addition to ammunition. However, Europe has only indirect information about what is happening in North Korea. All the embassies there withdrew during the covid pandemic and diplomats have not yet returned.
The Czech embassy in Pyongyang has had an imaginary “temporarily closed” sign on its door since 2021. At that time, only eight EU countries had embassies in the DPRK, but now, according to the Czech Foreign Ministry, no EU countries have embassies there.
“To the best of our knowledge, no EU country has fully reopened its representation yet,” spokesperson Mariana Wernerová said on behalf of the ministry.
Milan Hupcej, a Koreanist and former Czech ambassador to the DPRK, pointed out in 2019 that the Czech presence in the northern part of the island makes the Czech Republic “an important element that sees into that country”. Now almost no one can see directly from the place.
A country that doesn’t share much information
The withdrawal of the embassy staff due to concerns about the spread of covid and the difficulty of accessing quality medical care was supposed to be only temporary, with the Czech mission to be staffed again “as soon as the situation permits”; realistic estimates worked with 2022.
The Foreign Ministry, through then Minister Tomáš Petříček, stressed that “our presence there was important in the context of dealing with the issue of proliferation control” and that the withdrawal would have an impact on awareness of what was going on in the country “which already does not share much information”.
“The MFA is currently exploring with a number of European partners the conditions for the possible reopening of the embassy in Pyongyang. At the moment, however, we do not have enough information to talk about specific dates,” the MFA responded to a question about the current status of the Czech diplomatic representation in the DPRK.
Otherwise, the Czech Republic has its man ready: the last ambassador, Radim Pecl, is still duly appointed, but he has been based in Prague for the past three years.
The topic of the DPRK has been gaining importance recently in the context of Russia’s war against Ukraine. The supply of weapons and millions of rounds of large-caliber ammunition has become an important part of Russian war plans and activities, although Russian gunners are said to complain about the highly fluctuating quality of North Korean production.
Tomáš Kopecny, the government’s commissioner for the reconstruction of Ukraine, pointed this out in an interview with Czech Radio. “I don’t want to exaggerate, but one delivered round of that large-calibre ammunition, manufactured in the West, or according to Western standards, will realistically, thanks to the navigation and accuracy of that hit, cover several – I don’t want to specify, but there are precise numbers for this – let’s say ten rounds that are delivered from North Korea.”
A chance to lean on Russia
It is also significant that Russia in return helps the North Korean (as well as the Iranian) regime in economic supplies, but also politically, in international relations.
“North Korea has long been the most important pariah of the international community. When you’re a pariah alone, life is always complicated. Once there are two of you, you can start cooperating, even more so when the pariah is Russia – an objectively significant, strong power. All those who have had problems primarily with the United States until now are actually better off now because they can lean on Russia,” says Czech political geographer Michael Romancov.
In addition to weapons and ammunition, North Korea is helping Russia with its long experience in circumventing Western sanctions. “They’ve been at it for a much longer time, they’ve developed capabilities, and the Russians are learning from them,” Romancov notes.
The Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs acknowledges that, precisely in view of the DPRK’s deepening cooperation with Russia, it is increasingly important to know, preferably from the ground, what is happening in North Korea. “Of course, being present in any country contributes to better knowledge and at the same time provides greater opportunities for communication. The cooperation between Russia and the DPRK, which contravenes UN Security Council resolutions and UN sanctions regimes, is worrying and the Czech Republic condemns it. The violation of UNSC resolutions by Russia, as one of the permanent members of the UNSC, is particularly reprehensible,” said Mariana Wernerová, on behalf of the MFA.
