N. Korea closes embassy in Spain following shutdown of missions in Africa

An outside view of the Embassy of North Korea building in Madrid, Spain, is seen in this March 27, 2019 photo. EPA-Yonhap

North Korea has permanently closed its embassy in Madrid, a document showed Wednesday, the latest in a series of the reclusive regime's moves to shut down several diplomatic missions due apparently to economic difficulties worsened by global sanctions.

In a note verbale, Pyongyang announced its closure of the embassy in Spain and said its embassy in Italy will take over matters involving Spain going forward, according to the diplomatic document shared on the website of the Communist Party of the Peoples of Spain.

The short message, sent by the embassy's Charge d'Affaires So Yun-sok on Thursday last week, did not elaborate on the reason for the decision.

North Korea established diplomatic ties with Spain in 2001 and opened its mission there in 2013.

The North's first ambassador to the European country, Kim Hyok-chol, took his post the following year but was expelled in 2017 as a persona non grata following Pyongyang's nuclear test and missile launches.

In 2019, the embassy was raided by members of an anti-Pyongyang group, Free Joseon, who were accused of beating up the embassy staff and stealing laptops and documents. The organization, which later claimed responsibility for the raid, said it shared the stolen materials with the FBI.

The closure of the embassy in Spain followed reports by Pyongyang's state media and African media outlets that the North's ambassadors to Angola and Uganda paid "farewell" courtesy calls to the leaders of the African countries, announcing the shutdown of the diplomatic missions.

Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun has also reported that the secretive regime plans to shut down its consulate in Hong Kong due largely to economic difficulties.

Unification ministry spokesperson Koo Byoung-sam speaks during a press briefing, Oct. 30. Yonhap

South Korea's unification ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs, attributed the move to the North's faltering economy.

"The flurry of measures appears to show that it is no longer feasible for the North to maintain diplomatic missions as their efforts to obtain foreign currency have stumbled due to strengthened sanctions," a ministry official told reporters on condition of anonymity.

Rather than receiving funds from Pyongyang, the North's diplomatic missions are known to secure funds for operations through illicit trade and commercial activities and send remittances to their home country, according to former North Korean diplomats who have defected to South Korea.

According to government data, as of October, North Korea operates 53 diplomatic missions — 47 embassies, three consulates and three representative offices. The number is expected to fall to 49 should its shutdown of missions in Angola, Uganda, Spain and Hong Kong be finalized. (Yonhap)