Nigeria to reopen embassy in North Korea

The Interim Commissioner for Affairs (Chargé D’affaires) of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in North Korea, Patrick Imodu Imologome, has announced the country’s plan to reopen its embassy in North Korea.

Imologome announced this while paying a protocol visit to the Ambassador of Russia, A. И. Mategore, in Pyongyang, the North Korean capital.

The Russian Embassy in North Korea shared the details of the meeting with Imologome in a Facebook post.

Nigeria’s diplomatic relations were stalled in 2021 after following the United Nations ban on the hiring of expatriates and professionals from North Korea, an Asian country notorious for the development of nuclear weapons and missiles in other countries.

The UN implemented the ban as a sanction in response to the country’s nuclear weapon and missile activities.

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Nigeria maintained a cordial relationship with the country and sought the country’s help in combatting the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Medical professionals were flown into the country from North Korea.

In 2021, however, a health professional drew the UN’s attention to Nigeria’s disregard for the UN ban on North Korean labour.

With the plan to reopen the Nigerian Embassy in North Korea, Nigeria will become the second African country after Egypt to maintain a diplomatic presence in North Korea.