Telegram to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from the Royal Embassy in Helsinki, 'Finland’s Expulsion of North Korean Diplomats'

Telegram to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Embassy in Helsinki amtel 90 dated October 21. 1976 11:04

Routine

Finland’s expulsion of North Korean diplomats

1. The Finnish government decided yesterday to expel four of five diplomats from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea here, among them charge d’affaires Embassy Secretary Chang Dae Hi. The statement from the Finnish State Department said the involved persons have carried out activities in violation of Finnish law and the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations. No further information on the activities are given, but according to the press it is similar to what has taken place in Copenhagen – illegal import and sale of narcotics, spirits and cigarettes. In a press release dated the 19., the Finnish State Department confirmed that the North Korean Embassy here was subject to police investigation for the same reason as in the other Nordic countries.

The final note in the statement emphasizes Finland’s desire to maintain good relations between Finland and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

2. The Deputy Director of the Finnish State Department’s has informed on request that one of the five North Korean diplomats, namely the youngest attaché, is not to be expelled, according to the government’s decision.

To questions of whether the diplomat in question was not guilty of any legal violation, the Deputy did not give further information, but referred only to the government’s statement. This leads us to believe that it was the intention of the State Department to expel all five diplomats.

Furthermore, the Deputy has informed that the Finnish trade attaché in Pyongyang has been sent to Beijing on “regular travel duties”.

According to the Department for Protocol, the diplomats have been given six days to leave Finland. (not fourteen days as stated in the press).

Adamsen 90+