Superb ambassador’s passport to North Korea

 

Outstanding diplomatic passport issued at the height of the Korean War.

 

When one collects old passports and travel documents, one always tries to find the best and the rarest of items, and the item here can be considered as such.

 

One of the most secluded and mysterious countries today, which has remained rather closed for close to 70 years is North Korea. Following the Korean War, that lasted over 3 years from 1950 to 1953, the borders of this country have remained tight and exit and entry is nearly impossible. So when one finds a travel document which has a visa to that country, well, one has found a treasure.

 

The passport here was issued during the Cold War, in 1951, and during the height of the Korean War:

A Diplomatic passport issued to the ambassador of Romania to Pyongyang! A truly exceptional and rare find indeed (One can learn more about the Foreign relations of Romania here).

 

Passport No. 0628 (which on its own is a low number) was issued to Pavel Babuci on February 17^th 1951 at Bucharest. As it is clearly states inside “Ambassadeur Extraordinaire et Plénipotentiaire de la Republique Populaire Roumaine dans la Republique Populaire Coreenne”. The passport was good for one year and for use in the orient, the Far East.

 

A brief biography about this individual:

 

• Instructor of the Central Committee of the Romanian Workers Party (1945),
• Representative of the Suceava County (1946),
• Ambassador to DPRK during the Korean War (1951-1952),
• (Was replaced by Nichifor Stere around February of 1953)
• Minister Plenipotentiary of People’s Republic of Romania to United Kingdom (1953-1956),
• Ambassador to Belgium, Luxembourg and Netherlands (1959-1964).

 

During the war, many countries form the eastern bloc assisted the Koreans, and this was largely in the form of medical help, such as nurses, doctors and material required. At no stage was there any military assistance from Rumania’s part and the help continued after the war ended. From on line research one can learn that the majority of the foreign diplomats originally stationed in the country were withdrawn, and once the war stabilized or was coming to an end, they began to return. The passport here is also considered an exception because it contradicts the above, only the Mongolian ambassador stayed during the entire war in the country.

 

Some of the visas inside are also among the rarest that can be located inside a passport:

 

1. Chinese Diplomatic visa from Bucharest – 1951 (page 19);
2. North Korean Diplomatic visa issued in Moscow – 1951 ( page 21);
3. North Korean Diplomatic permit & exit visa from Pyongyang – 1951 (pages 22-23);
4. Chinese Diplomatic visa issued at Pyongyang – 1951 (page 25);
5. Soviet Diplomatic visa from Pyongyang – 1951 (page 27);
6. Mongolia’s Peoples Republic (pages 29 & 37);

 

I must say that this is one of the best items in my collection and would warmly welcome other North Korean amazing visas or passports in the future.

 

Highlights of the routes appearing inside this document:

 

Exit – 13/3/51 – Romania

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Entry – 14/3/51 – USSR

*Entry visa – North Korea Embassy – 17/3/51*

Exit – 24/3/51 – USSR

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*Exit visa – North Korean Foreign Ministry – 12/9/51

*Entry visa – Chinese Embassy – 13/9/51*

*Entry visa – USSR Embassy – 14/9/51*

Exit – North Korea – 16/9/51

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Entry – China – 16/9/51

*Entry visa – Ulan Battar Embassy – 21/9/51*

Exit – China – 25/9/51

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Entry – 25/9/51 – Ulan Battar

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Entry – USSR – 25/9/51

Exit – USSR – 28/9/51

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Entry – Romania – 28/9/51

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(2)

 

*Entry visa USSR Embassy – 22/10/51*

Exit – Romania – 29/11/51

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Entry – 29/11/51 – USSR

*Entry visa Ulan Battar Embassy – 1/12/51*

*Exit permit USSR visa Irkutsk – 1/12/51*

Exit USSR- 7/12/51

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Entry – Ulan Battar – 7/12/51

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Entry China – 7/12/51

*Entry visa North Korean Embassy – 14/12/51*

*Residence stay-permit for 3 days in Shenyang when exiting – 18/12/51*

Exit China – 23/12/51

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Entry – North Korea – 23/12/51

*Exit visa North Korean Foreign Ministry – 8/11/52*

*Entry visa – China Embassy – 9/11/52*

*Entry visa – USSR Embassy – 11/11/52*

Exit – North Korea – 15/11/52

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Entry China – 15/11/52

*Police inspection – 16/11/52*

*Exit visa Chinese Foreign Ministry – 24/11/52*

*Police inspection – 26/11/52*

Exit – China – 27/11/52

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Entry – Ulan Battar – 27/11/52

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Entry – USSR – 27/11/52

Exit – USSR – 5/12/52

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Entry – Romania – 5/12/52

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(3)

 

*Exit visa Romanian passport office – 22/1/53*

*Entry visa Albanian Legation – 23/1/53*

Exit – Romania – 27/1/53

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Entry – Albania – 31/1/53

*Exit visa Albania Foreign Ministry – 14/2/53*

Exit – Albania – 19/2/53

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Entry – Romania – 22/2/53

 

 

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