US: seized DPRK packages have no diplomatic immunity

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The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said on Sunday its officers seized multiple media items and packages from three DPRK citizens who, according to the US State Department, were not accredited members of the DPRK's Mission to the UN and had no diplomatic immunity, the AP news agency reported.

This came after a spokesman for the DPRK Foreign Ministry complained on Sunday that its delegation was "literally mugged at the John F. Kennedy International Airport by the US authorities" as it was about to board a flight home after attending a conference at the UN headquarters on the rights of persons with disabilities.

T‍he John F. Kennedy International Airport. /VCG Photo

“The package in question had no diplomatic protection from inspection,” said DHS spokesperson David Lapan, adding that the three DPRK nationals attempted to physically retrieve the items but were prevented from doing so by DHS officers.

Lapan went on to explain that the reported aggression was initiated by the DPRK citizens: “The individuals were released without further incident but subsequently refused to board their departing flight without the items that had been seized.”

Why the packages were taken remains unknown and the DHS said that it was looking into the situation.

The DPRK Foreign Ministry branded the action "a planned and organized provocation" and "an intolerable act of infringement upon the sovereignty of the DPRK," warning that the United States should "be fully aware of the grave consequences to follow."