§ Mr. Gordon PrenticeTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what initiatives he has taken following the establishment of diplomatic relations with North Korea. [141520]
§ Mr. BattleFollowing the decision in October by the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary to respond positively to a request from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to establish diplomatic relations, diplomatic relations were established on 12 December 2000.
We hope to appoint a Chargé d'Affaires soon who will be based in Seoul. He will be responsible for establishing a resident Embassy in Pyongyang and liaising with the DPRK Government about developing relations between the UK and the DPRK, through, for example, an enhanced English language teaching programme.