North Korea's top envoy to Germany was caught illegally fishing earlier this week, but could not be detained due to his diplomatic immunity, a German magazine said Thursday (local time).

Ambassador Ri Si-hong, who took office in September, was fishing on the Havel River in Berlin Sunday when local police officers asked to see his license, according to local news reports cited by the German weekly news magazine Der Spiegel.

Fishing without a license is punishable with up to two years in prison or a 200 euro fine in the European country.

Ri responded that he was the North Korean ambassador, and the officers confirmed his identity through their own records of his personal details and a photograph, the news reports said.

When asked to stop the illegal activity, "the ambassador politely acknowledged (the request) with a smile and continued with the offense," Der Spiegel quoted the reports as saying.

Berlin police confirmed the offense but declined to identify the person involved. (Yonhap News)