Tyrone man recounts North Korea lockdown

A TYRONE man has revealed his dramatic departure from North Korea as the notorious state locked down against coronavirus last year.

Colin Crooks from Dungannon was working in North Korea as the UK’s Ambassador when the outbreak of Covid 19 brought down the shutters on the already highly-secretive nation ruled by Kim Jong-un back in January.

In an interview released last week on ‘ourstoryinthemaking.com’ to mark the Centenary of Northern Ireland, the 52-year-old said he feared he would be trapped in the country, which still remains completely closed off to outsiders.

“The one indelible memory that I will have is the experience we had of being locked down from January 2020 until we eventually took the decision to close the Embassy temporarily,” said Mr Crooks.

“North Korea is a fairly tough and intense place to work at the best of times. We normally spend six or eight weeks there at a time, so having spent six months there, people felt we’d done enough and sadly we had to get out.

“The concern for our welfare was that if we’d stayed, we could have been stuck indefinitely. You wouldn’t want to rely on local health facilities for anything but the most urgent of needs and we would not have been able to be evacuated out.

“We tried to persuade the North Koreans to allow us to bring people in to keep the Embassy open, but they weren’t having it, so we had to close.”

Colin, who eventually left the country in May last year, is maintaining diplomatic relations with North Korea and says the UK is committed to re-establishing its Embassy in Pyongyang once the Covid-19 lockdown is lifted.

“The border closures have made it much harder to find out what is really happening in the country. We are worried, for example, about the welfare of vulnerable communities, in particular their access to adequate nutrition, clean water, and medical facilities,” Colin continued. “We really hope North Korea will facilitate access for international humanitarian organisations as soon as possible.

“North Korea could enjoy a bright future if they stop their nuclear activities and engage meaningfully with the international community. The UK stands ready to support should they agree to adhere to UN Security Council resolutions.

“They may think they can keep nuclear weapons and have prosperity at the same time, but they can’t. They have to make a choice.”

The Dungannon man says the lockdown drama was a worrying time for his South Korea-born wife Young-kee and his sons Jamie, 23, and 20-year-old Matthew.

Colin’s regular tweets gave a rare glimpse of what life in North Korea was like, including meeting pop singer Joss Stone, who’d been allowed to perform there.

He added, “I haven’t met Kim Jong-un, but I’ve sat 30 yards from him at a speech he delivered in a large auditorium.

“Tourists are escorted at all times but generally, as a diplomat, you are free to go within Pyongyang, although quite often you’ll spot that you’re being observed or followed. After a while, you start to wave at them as they are doing that sort of thing.”