Ukraine War: Foreign Office summons North Korea’s chargé d’affaires

The Foreign Office responded to reports about a possible deployment of North Korean soldiers on the Russian side in the Ukraine war by summoning the North Korean charge d’affaires. “We would of course view such a step as an escalation,” said a ministry spokeswoman.

Federal government in “great concern”

Summoning a country’s ambassador or chargé d’affaires is considered a harsh means of protest in diplomacy. The interview with the chargé d’affaires was conducted by the responsible department head in the Foreign Office. The spokeswoman said he told the North Korean diplomat that Germany was following the reports about possible troop relocations “with great concern.”

“Violation of international law”

The Foreign Office had previously commented on X. “North Korea’s support of the Russian war of aggression also directly threatens Germany’s security and the European peace order,” it said. If the reports are correct and North Korea supports Russia’s war of aggression with troops, “this would be serious and a violation of international law.”

The Federal Republic of Germany has had diplomatic relations with North Korea since 2001. In addition to the chargé d’affaires, who heads the representation, there is only one other diplomat from the communist country working at the embassy in Berlin. There is currently no ambassador.

Zelensky calls for pressure on Pyongyang

Before the summons, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj called for international pressure on the leadership in Pyongyang. “In particular, we have information about the training of two units of the North Korean military – perhaps even two brigades of 6,000 men each,” he said.

News that Russia could increase its troops with North Koreans has been circulating for days. South Korea has also warned against this, citing intelligence findings.