In an extra shutdown of diplomatic missions, North Korea has been closing down its embassies in Bangladesh and the Democratic Republic of Congo, media reviews confirmed.
As of Could 2023, North Korea operated a complete of 53 overseas missions, however since then, media reviews have confirmed the closure of North Korean embassies and consulates in as many as a dozen areas, together with these in nations Pyongyang views as longtime allies.
The North shut down its embassy in Dhaka on Nov. 20 and knowledgeable the Bangladeshi authorities that its embassy in India would assume accountability for the related affairs, in line with a Bangladeshi every day, The Each day Star, on Nov. 26.
The paper quoted a Bangladeshi overseas ministry official as saying the North’s transfer wouldn’t have an effect on Bangladesh “in any manner” because it doesn’t have any notable commerce relations with Pyongyang.
The 2 nations established diplomatic relations in 1973. The North Korean embassy in Bangladesh consisted of 4 diplomats, together with the ambassador. Bangladesh doesn’t have its mission in North Korea and maintains diplomatic relations with it by way of the Bangladesh embassy in China.
Individually, NK Information reported on Nov. 28 that the North Korean embassy within the Democratic Republic of the Congo is “set to shut” and its operations shall be dealt with by the embassy in Ethiopia, citing a spokesman for the nation’s overseas ministry.
However the spokesman mentioned the North didn’t give a motive for the embassy closure.
“Tightened worldwide sanctions on North Korea have hampered its skill to earn overseas foreign money, making it tough to keep up its diplomatic missions,” an official from South Korea’s Ministry of Unification, which oversees inter-Korean relations, mentioned in October.
“This can be a glimpse of North Korea’s dire financial scenario, the place it’s tough to keep up even minimal diplomatic relations with conventional allies,” the ministry official mentioned.
However amid the hypothesis over its funds, a North Korean overseas ministry spokesperson mentioned on Nov. 3 that it’s within the technique of “closing and opening” diplomatic missions in different nations, and it is a regular a part of the enterprise of sovereign nations.
“We’ll proceed to take the required diplomatic steps within the context of the potential growth of our exterior relations according to the evolving worldwide surroundings,” the spokesperson mentioned at the moment.
Edited by Mike Firn and Elaine Chan.