Mexico and North Korea established diplomatic relations on 4 September 1980; 27 years after the end of the Korean War.[1] In 1993, North Korea opened an embassy in Mexico City.[1] Initial diplomatic relations between both nations were cordial. North Korea has collaborated in projects throughout Mexico, particularly in the Mexican states of Durango, Nayarit, Oaxaca, Puebla, San Luis Potosí and the State of Mexico.[1]
In 2003, relations between both nations came to a low when North Korea withdrew from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Since then, Mexico has repeatedly condemned all missile launches from North Korea. In June 2009, as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, Mexico voted in favor of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1874 which imposed further economic and commercial sanctions on North Korea and encouraged UN member states to search North Korean cargo ships. In July 2014, a North Korean merchant ship called the Mu Du Bong ran aground and damaged nearly an acre of coral reefs near the Mexican state of Veracruz. Mexico detained the ship after discovering that it belongs to a blacklisted shipping firm.[2] The merchant ship was never released back to North Korea and in 2016 Mexico began scrapping the ship and released the crew members back to their home country.[3]
Throughout 2017, Mexico has condemned all missile launches from North Korea.[4]
On 7 September 2017, the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs declared persona non grata the Ambassador of North Korea in Mexico, Kim Hyong-gil, and expelled him from the country within 72 hours. This decision followed the sixth nuclear test carried out by Pyongyang.[5]
In September 2020, Mexican President López Obrador accepted the credentials of the new resident North Korean Ambassador, Sun-Ryong Song, to Mexico.[8]
Bilateral Agreements
Both nations have signed a few bilateral agreements such as an Agreement on Education and Cultural Cooperation (2008) and an Agreement of Cooperation in Public Health and Traditional Medicine (2009).[9][1]
Trade
In 2023, total trade between both nations amounted to US$459 thousand.[10] Mexico's exports to North Korea include: essential oils used for soaps, perfumes and waxing; inorganic luminophore, splints and fracture appliances. North Korea's exports to Mexico include: acrylic polymers, glass, plastic, photographic and cinematographic equipment, insecticides and pasta.[10]
In 2015, Mexico was North Korea's most important trading partner in Latin America with purchasing 1% of North Korea's total exports.[11]
North Korean Ambassador to Mexico Kim Sung-ryong told an in interview with the Mexican press on September 22 that the North Korean embassy in Mexico opened on September 20, 1993.[16]
North Korean Ambassador to Mexico Kim Chang-shik was deported February 13 by the Mexican government in connection with recent cocaine smuggling involving two North Korean diplomats residing in Mexico.[17]
Feb. 14 The Korean Central News Agency says that the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly appoints him as ambassador to Mexico, replacing Ri Kang-se.[18]