20 April 2016•Update: 22 April 2016
By Alex Jensen
SEOUL
North Korea looks set to replace its ambassador to Germany, Ri Si-hong, as South Korean media outlets speculated Wednesday that the envoy was being blamed for the German government’s response to the North’s nuclear test and rocket launch earlier this year.
Several nations have condemned Pyongyang in recent weeks for ignoring United Nations resolutions, but Ri would be the most high-profile diplomat to be recalled following the announcement of strengthened UN sanctions last month.
South Korea’s Donga Ilbo newspaper reported that Pyongyang could be holding Ri responsible for Germany’s unilateral decision to get tougher on the North, while also clamping down on officials abroad amid a series of high-profile defections by North Koreans to the South.
A Seoul foreign ministry official cited by local news agency Yonhap confirmed that North Korea has already informed Germany of its plan to send a new ambassador to Berlin.
Having been based in Germany since 2011, Ri is no stranger to headlines -- within a few months of taking up his post, he drew tabloid attention for abusing diplomatic immunity to indulge in a spot of illegal fishing in Berlin.
Ri was also involved in a furor last year upon the German release of The Interview, a comedy about an attempt to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong-un -- the Berlin International Film Festival ended up having to explain to the ambassador that it had nothing to do with the movie’s distribution.
The North also switched its ambassador to Myanmar a month ago after envoy Kim Sok-chol was personally targeted by the United States and South Korea as part of a package of sanctions.
But Ri appears to have been singled out considering he was not blacklisted, and other diplomats might be considered just as vulnerable -- for example, Ji Jae-ryong remains in his position as North Korea’s ambassador to China despite a steady decline in relations between Pyongyang and Beijing.
