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Published November 11, 2023, 5:27 pm ET
North Korea continues to close many of its limited embassies around the world, increasing suspicions of an ongoing financial crisis.
According to reports published on Friday, the Hermit Kingdom is closing its embassy in Nepal.
This is at least the fifth country from which North Korea has deliberately withdrawn in recent months, ostensibly for reasons of diplomatic restructuring.
“We are conducting disengagement operations and establishing diplomatic missions in accordance with the changing global environment and national diplomatic policies,” a North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman wrote earlier this month, according to translations by Yonhap News Agency.
Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un has approved withdrawals from Nepal, Spain, Angola, Uganda and Hong Kong in recent months, causing some confusion among diplomats.
South Korean experts claim the closures indicate a rapidly deteriorating financial situation for their northern counterparts.
“The spate of actions appears to show that it is no longer possible for the North to maintain diplomatic missions as its efforts to raise foreign currency have stalled due to tightened sanctions,” South Korea’s Unification Ministry said last month, according to translations from Yonhap .
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has approved withdrawals from Nepal, Spain, Angola, Uganda and Hong Kong in recent months. AP
Unable to sustainably feed its own population through domestic production or standard trade, North Korea relies on the contribution of its allies – and sometimes even its enemies – to curb hunger.
Diplomats who have left the country claim North Korean embassies are largely funded by illegal activities and illegal money-making projects.
North Korean diplomats around the world have a history of causing international incidents by engaging in or promoting counterfeiting, human trafficking, drug trafficking and more.
North Korea’s ongoing closure of embassies in various countries is believed to be related to an ongoing financial crisis. RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY/AFP via Getty Images
At the same time as this diplomatic restructuring, Kim Jong-Un’s regime appears to be making major efforts to build relations with Russia and China.
Notoriously hermetic North Korea has received several diplomatic missions from both countries in recent months.
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