North Korea’s embassy in Germany now holds primary responsibility for the country’s relations with the European Union, NK News learned from multiple sources this week, a marked shift that could impact the DPRK’s often-fraught ties with the bloc.

Pyongyang does not have an ambassador based at EU headquarters in Brussels, and relations between the DPRK and European Union had long been managed out of the country’s embassy in London.

Diplomats in the UK were tasked with the day-to-day running of North Korea-EU diplomacy and received their accreditation from Brussels.