North Korea earlier this month appointed a new ambassador to the Czech Republic, publicly-available documents revealed this week, formally replacing long-time diplomat and uncle of the North Korean leader Kim Pyong Il as Pyongyang’s top envoy in Prague.

The Czech government has formally agreed to accept Ju Won Chol as ambassador — a process known in diplomacy as agrément — though he is yet to present his credentials to the country’s President.

A former Director General of the North Korean foreign ministry’s Second European Department, Ju is known as a fluent Czech speaker and previously served as a deputy