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Russia would be only the second embassy known to be allowed new
staff, after China's new ambassador entered in March.
The arrival of the new Russia staff comes amid U.S. officials'
suggestions that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un may visit
Russia soon to see President Vladimir Putin, possibly to discuss
arms deals.
"On September 7 at Pyongyang Sunan International Airport, for
the first time since 2019, we met our new colleagues - 20
diplomats and technical employees who arrived at the Embassy on
a personnel rotation basis," the embassy said in a Facebook
post.
Many embassies closed in Pyongyang because they were unable to
rotate staff or ship supplies during the COVID-19 crisis.
Russian diplomats were among those who stayed on, despite
complaining over shortages of essentials such as medicine,
problems getting healthcare, and pandemic restrictions that they
said were unprecedented in severity.
In one episode in February 2021 a group of Russian diplomats and
family members used a hand-pushed rail trolley to leave North
Korea, as Pyongyang’s anti-coronavirus measures blocked most
forms of passenger transport across the border.
In a first since before the pandemic, Chinese and Russian
government delegations flew to Pyongyang in July and buses
carrying North Korean athletes to a taekwondo tournament in
Kazakhstan crossed the border into China. The North has also
begun allowing its own citizens who were trapped abroad to
return on flights and trains.
(Reporting by Cynthia Kim, Josh Smith; Editing by Andrew
Cawthorne)
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