Kim Pyong Il, half-brother of the late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il and a diplomat who represented his country in semi-exile in Europe for over 30 years, has returned home and will be replaced as ambassador to the Czech Republic, a diplomatic source told NK News this week.

The 65-year-old Kim, who began diplomatic service in Yugoslavia in the 1970s and later served as top envoy to Hungary, Bulgaria, Finland, and Poland, had been working as the DPRK's ambassador to the Czech Republic since 2015.