From 46 to 44 places… Presumed to be due to deepening financial crisis due to blockage of foreign currency earnings
It was confirmed that North Korea also withdrew its embassies in Hong Kong and Libya.
According to the status of North Korean diplomatic missions posted on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ website on the 30th, there were only 44 North Korean diplomatic missions as of December last year.
By region, ▲12 locations (Laos, Mongolia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Singapore, India, Indonesia, China, Cambodia, Thailand, Pakistan, Shenyang) ▲6 locations in the Americas (Mexico, Venezuela, Brazil, Cuba, Peru, United Nations) ▲ 15 locations in Europe (Germany, Russia, Romania, Belarus, Bulgaria, Sweden, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, England, Czech Republic, Poland, Vladivostok, Geneva, France) ▲ 5 locations in the Middle East (Syria, Algeria, Iran, Egypt, Kuwait) ▲ There are six places in Africa (Nigeria, South Africa, Ethiopia, Equatorial Guinea, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Tanzania).
Two more locations were reduced from the existing 46 locations. The embassies in question are Hong Kong and Libya.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs judges the withdrawal as ‘complete’ when all three conditions are met: official notification of the resident authority’s intention to withdraw, removal of the national flag and signboard, and completion of departure of all diplomatic staff.
As of the 4th, the Hong Kong administration deleted the list of North Korean consulates from its website. Libya also confirmed that the Korean government had finally withdrawn the North Korean embassy through several channels.
As a result, a total of 9 locations have been closed since the end of October last year, following 7 locations including Guinea, Nepal, Bangladesh, Senegal, Spain, Angola, and Uganda.
The prevailing analysis is that the successive closures of North Korea’s overseas embassies are due to financial difficulties that make it difficult to maintain them. North Korean embassies abroad often finance their own operating expenses, but the international community’s strengthening of sanctions against North Korea has made it difficult for North Korea to earn illegal foreign currency through its overseas embassies.
North Korea has been making money by distributing counterfeit currency, fake cigarettes, and alcohol through its diplomatic missions abroad. It is also known that some countries have been secretly collecting rental profits in violation of the rule that diplomatic facilities cannot be rented for commercial purposes.
Additional closures of North Korean embassies abroad are likely to continue.
An official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, “Libya and Hong Kong have been excluded from the list of North Korean embassies. “So far, North Korea has completed the withdrawal of nine embassies abroad,” he said, adding, “We are continuing to monitor (regarding additional closures).”
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.