"The fact is that we do have an embassy there even though it is very small,'' said Swaraj, responding to a query on whether India would downgrade ties with Pyongyang in light of US attempts to rein in Kim Jong Un diplomatically.``Our trade with North Korea can at best be described as minimal. I told Secretary Tillerson that some countries which are friendly to US should continue to maintain their embassies as it will allow channels of communication to remain open,'' added Swaraj.In keeping with UNSC sanctions, India has already banned all trade, except food and medicine, with North Korea starting April this year. According to government data, India's exports to North Korea for the financial year 2016-2017 stood at $ 44.99 million and this year, from April to May, at $ 6.21 million. In the first 2 months of the ongoing financial year, India's imports totalled only $ 4.74 million.Both US and Japan have persuaded India to limit its trade ties with North Korea but official sources here later clarified that at no stage did the US ask India to close down its embassy in Pyongyang. ``The foreign minister's remark was in response to a question specifically seeking to know if India was going to snap diplomatic links by shutting down its embassy,'' said an official.The US is now reported to have despatched 2 aircraft carriers in the direction of North Korea in what some security experts have described as World War III threat.

Source: Times of India October 25, 2017 20:03 UTC