India has declined to close down its embassy in North Korea, a decision that it conveyed to US secretary of state Rex Tillerson on Friday.
While the Trump administration did not formally request this of the Indian government, it has been urging various countries to isolate North Korea – and New Delhi had been indirectly apprised that Washington would prefer India to snap ties.
Tillerson arrived in New Delhi on Tuesday night after a whirlwind tour through Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan. Besides external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj, he met with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
India has been ramping up its rhetoric on North Korea this year to align itself closely with the key foreign policy priority of the Trump administration. This change in rhetoric was most visible in the India-US joint statement issued during PM Modi’s visit to Washington in June to meet President Donald Trump for the first time.
India has been North Korea’s second biggest trade partner, after China. As per the Directorate General of Foreign Trade, India’s export to North Korea was $76.52 million and import stood at $132.53 million in 2014-15. While India largely exported oilmeals, cotton yarn and machinery, Pyongyang exported iron and steel. From $209.05 million, the bilateral came down $130.38 million in 2016-17.
North Korea’s imports in the first two months of this financial year was $4.74 million, while export was $6.21 million.
In April, India banned all trade with Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), except for food and medicine – in line with United Nations Security Council sanctions.
The US had earlier threatened to end trade ties with countries which continue to support the North Korean regime. While it has sought to publicly give assurance of minimising trade relations, New Delhi made it clear that it will not snap diplomatic ties.
“We had an open discussion on this subject,” said Swaraj. She noted that India’s trade with North Korea can be described as “minimal”.
On the embassy closure, she pointed out that India’s diplomatic mission had a very small presence. India’s embassy in Pyongyang has around two diplomats.
“I told secretary Tillerson that embassies of some of your friendly countries should remain there so that some channels of communication remain open. Many times, you may have need to talk…a mutual dialogue may be required to resolve some issues. At least one embassy should be there from your friends. And I believe that he understood this,” she said at a press conference after discussions in Delhi on Wednesday.
Swaraj argued that India’s diplomatic presence would be helpful to the US, in case Washington wanted to convey a message to the North Korean regime.
Calling him a ‘rocket man’ at the UN, President Trump has kept up a war of words against the North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un. With Trump threatening to destroy North Korea, Kim called him “mentally deranged”.