North Korea shutting its embassies to 'rearrange diplomatic capacity efficiently'
File photo.
North Korea said on Friday (Nov 3) that it was shutting down some of its embassies to rearrange its diplomatic capacity efficiently. Earlier, media reports said North Korea had been poised to close as many as a dozen embassies in Hong Kong, Spain and several other places in Africa. South Korea indicated that Pyongyang was struggling under the burden of sanctions.
On the North Korean foreign ministry's website, a spokesperson said, "We are carrying out operations to withdraw and establish diplomatic missions in accordance with changing global environments and national foreign policy."
The spokesperson called the shutdown a normal activity and refused to elaborate further.
On Monday, North Korean state media KCNA reported that the country's ambassadors paid farewell visits to Angolan and Ugandan leaders last week. Angola and Uganda have forged friendly ties with Pyongyang since the 1970s.
At present, North Korea has formal relations with 159 countries but had 53 diplomatic missions overseas, until it pulled out of Angola and Uganda.
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According to a report by the news agency Reuters on Wednesday, Chad O'Carroll, founder of the North Korea-focused website NK Pro, said that embassy closings set the stage for what could become one of North Korea's biggest foreign policy shakeups in decades, with implications for diplomatic engagement, humanitarian work in the isolated country, as well as the ability to generate illicit revenue.
Also read: Thousands of North Korean IT workers in US sent money home for ballistic missile programme
South Korea's unification ministry, meanwhile, said the pullout reflected the impact of international sanctions aimed at curbing funding for the North's nuclear and missile programmes.
"They appear to be withdrawing as their foreign currency earning business has stumbled due to the international community's strengthening of sanctions, making it difficult to maintain the embassies any longer," the ministry said in a statement.
"This can be a sign of North Korea's difficult economic situation, where it is difficult to maintain even minimal diplomatic relations with traditionally friendly countries," it added.
(With inputs from agencies)