The Newsletter 78 Autumn 2017

North Korea from a Norwegian perspective

Jan Grevstad

<p align=\"left\">The theme throughout this paper is the Norwegian government’s strong commitment to uphold and advance international laws and principles, our condemnation of North Korea’s human rights situation and their weapons development program, and our support for peaceful, diplomatic and political solutions. The article presents two simple answers as to why Norway is concerned about the Korean peninsula: Our common security. Our common prosperity.</p>

Norway established diplomatic ties with the DPRK at the same time as the other Nordic countries, in 1973. While Norway never had an embassy in Pyongyang, North Korea closed its embassy in Oslo in the 1990s. Since 2004, the Norwegian Ambassador to Seoul has also been accredited as Ambassador to Pyongyang. We continue to maintain a diplomatic relationship with North Korea as we believe contact is critical to sustain peace and development in any geopolitical situation.

As of today, Norway has virtually zero trade with North Korea. Our engagement is restricted to humanitarian assistance through international organizations, and diplomatic interactions, including at the multilateral arena. The embassy attempts annual visits, mainly to follow up on our humanitarian assistance to the people of North Korea, which we have been giving since the 1990s. Our assistance is based purely on humanitarian needs and therefore we do not withhold aid as and when the political situation changes. On humanitarian assistance, Norway communicates clearly to the North Korean authorities that we expect them to respect and support humanitarian principles. We advocate for the government to do its best to make sure United Nations and other agencies have full access.

When in North Korea we also make it clear that any improvement in our bilateral relations is contingent on two issues: unambiguously positive developments on the human rights and the cessation of nuclear tests. Norway is not a party to the conflict on the peninsula, but global norms, international law, and the security situation of East Asia matters to us. Continued testing and development runs counter to international norms and resolutions. An unstable peninsula means an unstable region. An unsafe peninsula means an unsafe world. In response, we firmly and faithfully support all multilateral sanctions on North Korea, which we have adopted into Norwegian law.

An unsafe peninsula also represents a risk to our common prosperity. Norway has robust and healthy trade relationships with not only South Korea, but also other countries in the region. This region’s role in and impact on the world economy, for merchandise and financial goods and services, is massively important. Finally, however much we disagree with their actions and their attitude, we must accept that North Korea, its leadership and regime, have their own concerns. Understanding Pyongyang’s own positions is a first step for any useful discussion on the North Korea issue. Norway stands with the international community in supporting all efforts for a peaceful, diplomatic and political solution to the situation on the peninsula.

Jan Grevstad, Ambassador of Norway to Korea (Jan.Ole.Grevstad@mfa.no)