North Korea to close embassy in Australia

AUSTRALIA, North Korea will close its embassy in Australia next month for financial reasons, the department of foreign affairs and trade said Tuesday.

Australia is one of the few countries in the world to maintain diplomatic relations with the isolated communist state.

A department official said North Korea had made no mention of a political reason for closing the embassy in the Australian capital.

"The embassy told DFAT (the department) the closure was for financial reasons only and that the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) government would consider re-opening should their financial situation improve," a spokeswoman told AFP. "We will continue to maintain diplomatic relations via our embassy in Beijing, which is accredited to the DPRK, and via whichever DPRK embassy is accredited to Australia."

Sydney, Tuesday, AFP