MADRID, Spain (Reuters) — The Spanish foreign ministry said on Monday (September 18) it had asked North Korea’s ambassador to leave Spain before the end of the month due to his country’s repeated refusals to renounce its nuclear weapons program.
“Today, the North Korean ambassador was summoned and was told of the decision to consider him as a persona non grata, therefore he must stop working and abandon the country before Sept. 30,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.
The United Nations Security Council imposed new sanctions after North Korea’s sixth and largest nuclear test this month, and the United States called on countries to sever diplomatic and financial ties with it.