As North Korea expands its diplomatic reach under a renewed "national interest diplomacy" policy, Brazil's new ambassador to North Korea has arrived in Pyongyang to assume office after a 10-year hiatus.

Brazil established an embassy in North Korea in 2009 and dispatched two successive ambassadors, but the mission had been operating under a charge d'affaires since July 2016.

According to the U.S.-based North Korean specialist media outlet NK News on the 5th (local time), Ricardo Primo Portugal, the newly appointed Brazilian ambassador to Pyongyang, paid courtesy calls on the Chinese and Cuban ambassadors to North Korea.

The Chinese Embassy in North Korea announced that Ambassador Portugal met with Ambassador Wang Yajun on the 4th, and the Cuban Embassy in North Korea also confirmed the meeting.

Ambassador Portugal, who previously served in Pyongyang in 2010, received approval from the Brazilian Senate in April before taking up his post. Brazil is one of only three countries in the Americas—alongside Cuba and Nicaragua—to maintain an embassy in Pyongyang. Furthermore, Brazil is the sole South American nation that operates embassies in both South and North Korea.

According to documents submitted by Ambassador Portugal to the Brazilian Senate earlier this year, his primary focus is on advancing food security cooperation, including reviving technical collaboration between North Korea and the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa) regarding soybean and rice cultivation.

Reports indicate that Brazil intends to push for the resumption of investments in North Korea, which had been suspended due to international sanctions, and remains open to providing food aid should North Korea request it. Between 2010 and 2012, Brazil delivered food aid to North Korea on three occasions through the United World Food Programme (WFP).

Additionally, North Korea has reportedly requested cooperation from Brazil in forest management, as well as flood and wildfire response.

NK News noted that Ambassador Portugal's arrival in Pyongyang coincides with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un declaring a "national interest diplomacy" framework this year, driving Pyongyang to broaden its diplomatic horizons.

North Korea has been normalizing its diplomatic ties by dispatching new heads of mission to key diplomatic hubs, including the United Kingdom, Indonesia, Brazil, Nigeria, and Belarus. In the case of Brazil, Song Se-il, North Korea's newly appointed ambassador to Brazil, presented his credentials to the Brazilian president in May and commenced his duties.

Reports also indicate an increase in the number of foreign ambassadors arriving in North Korea. According to the Chinese Embassy in North Korea, ambassadors from Sweden and Vietnam, as well as the charge d'affaires of Romania, have recently met with Ambassador Wang Yajun as they begin their local operations.

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