N. Korea pulls out of Nepal in series of diplomatic mission closures

North Korean Ambassador to Nepal Jo Yong-man pays a "farewell call" to Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Nov. 6, in this screenshot of the prime minister's office of Nepal. Yonhap

North Korea has decided to shut down its embassy in Nepal, a news report said Friday, the latest in a series of the reclusive regime's moves to shut down diplomatic missions due apparently to economic difficulties worsened by global sanctions.

A foreign relations adviser to Nepal's Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal was quoted saying that the North made the decision in line with its "changed priority" and "deepening financial crisis," according to the Kathmandu Post.

The report said the North Korean Embassy in New Delhi will instead take over diplomatic affairs going forward.

In a separate post on X, formerly known as Twitter, the prime minister's office said North Korean Ambassador to Nepal Jo Yong-man paid a "farewell call" to the prime minister on Monday.

North Korea established diplomatic ties with Nepal in 1974 and opened its mission in Kathmandu the same year.

North Korea recently gave notice of the shutdown of its embassies in Angola, Spain and Uganda to the respective countries, while Beijing has confirmed Pyongyang's decision to pull out from Hong Kong.

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 on Oct. 31.

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.

The North's foreign ministry has still claimed the shutdowns are part of efforts to efficiently rearrange its diplomatic capacity in line with the "changed global environment" and "national diplomatic policy." (Yonhap)