DNA Edit: Surprise Visit

The visit by Minister of State for External Affairs Gen. VK Singh to North Korea could well be termed ‘historic’ since this was the first high-level visit by a senior Indian minister to Pyongyang in nearly two decades. However, to those who have been following India-Korea relations, this visit should come as no surprise. 

Despite the US’s ire, India had continued to maintain an embassy in Pyongyang and continued trade with North Korea till the advent of international sanctions imposed on the country in 2017. In fact, it was unofficially claimed that till the sanctions, India was the third largest trade partner of North Korea.     

Though some had talked of the US-North Korea summit — which now threatens to be derailed — as the impetus for India to once again take forward its relationship with North Korea, that is not the case. India is especially concerned with the supposed sharing of nuclear technology by North Korea to Pakistan, a point the Minister of State saw fit to stress upon in his visit.

In the statement, the MEA said that Singh had raised concerns about “proliferation linkages with India’s neighbourhood”. The statement added that the North Koreans had assured Singh “that as a friendly country, DPRK will never allow any action that would create concerns for India’s security.” 

The visit is not without its optics though. The fact that the minister visited Pyongyang at a time when North Korea restarted its war of words with the US will certainly not please President Trump. However, through the visit, India has shown to the world that it is a global power unafraid to act independently.

At a time when President Donald Trump is ‘resetting’ a lot of global relationships — be it trade war with China or the Iran nuclear deal — it is an important message to get across.