Mexico keeps persona non grata status for North Korean envoy

North Korean Ambassador to Mexico Kim Hyong-gil, who has been declared persona non grata by Mexican government as of Sep.7, 2017, speaks to the press on the following day. According to North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Kim started his term there on June 20, 2016. Korea Times file

By Jung Da-min

Mexico's Secretariat of Foreign Affairs in September last year declared North Korean Ambassador Kim Hyong-gil as persona non grata and expelled him from the country.

Ahead of the inauguration ceremony of Mexico's president-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador next month, Kim's status remains unchanged.

"The position of North Korean ambassador to Mexico is still vacant," the Mexican Embassy in Seoul told Korea Times Monday. "We haven't heard about any plans to lift the measure yet."

As a North Korean delegation is heading for Mexico City to attend the presidential inauguration ceremony on Dec. 1, it is speculated that their strained diplomatic relations may improve.

The delegation is led by Kim Yong-nam, president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, and includes Pak Thae-song, vice-chairman of the Central Committee of Workers' Party of Korea, and Vice Foreign Minister Ho Yong-bok.

Kim Hyong-gil with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto in June 2016. Korea Times file

The Mexican government's decision to expel Kim Hyong-gil followed an executive order by The Mexican government's decision to expel Kim Hyong-gil followed an executive order by President Enrique Pena Nieto, in protest of North Korea conducting its sixth nuclear test on Sept. 3 last year.

Following Mexico, other countries including Peru and Spain also expelled North Korean ambassadors from their countries.

Meanwhile, the North Korean government is seeking to get diplomatic relations back on track, sending its delegation to Latin America.

According to North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Saturday, the delegation to Mexico will also visit Cuba and Venezuela.