Kyeong Hak-min, the new North Korean ambassador to Austria, presented his credentials to Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen on July 1, the Korean Central News Agency reported today (July 6).

The news agency reported that Ambassador Kyeong conveyed respectful greetings from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to President Van der Bellen.

In response, President Van der Bellen expressed his gratitude and said, "I hope that everything goes well in North Korea and that relations between the two countries will develop in the future."

The North Korean Foreign Ministry previously announced on June 6 that Ambassador Kyeong had been appointed as the ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to Austria.

Ambassador Kyeong appears to have replaced his predecessor, Choe Kang-il, who was appointed as ambassador to Austria in 2020.

Choe Kang-il's predecessor was Kim Kwang-sop, the son-in-law of former leader Kim Il-sung, who served as ambassador to Austria for 27 years from 1993 to 2020.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, North Korea operates 43 diplomatic missions worldwide as of June.

In Europe, in addition to Austria, North Korea operates a total of 15 missions, including resident embassies in Germany, Russia, Romania, Belarus, Bulgaria, Sweden, Switzerland, Italy, the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic, and Poland, as well as one consulate and two representative offices.