DPRK Spain embassy break-in was 'terrorism'

A break-in at the embassy of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in Spain last month was “a grave terrorist attack,” a representative from DPRK’s foreign ministry said yesterday.

The foreign ministry representative also called for an investigation and said DPRK was closely watching rumors that the US Federal Bureau of Investigation and an anti-DPRK group were behind the raid.

DPRK stopped short of blaming Washington directly for the raid and asked Spanish authorities to conduct the investigation in a responsible manner.

A mysterious dissident group accused of breaking into the embassy in Madrid last month said on Thursday it was temporarily suspending operations. That came after a Spanish judge issued international arrest warrants for two suspects Spanish authorities say fled to the US. The group has claimed the United States betrayed its trust after members approached the FBI.

DPRK’s state-run KCNA news agency said an armed group assaulted its embassy in Spain and bound, beat and tortured embassy staff and stole communication equipment.

“An illegal intrusion into and occupation of a diplomatic mission and act of theft are a grave breach of state sovereignty and a flagrant violation of international law, and this kind of act should never be tolerated over the globe,” DPRK’s foreign ministry representative said.