SHARE
COPY LINK

NORTH KOREA

Mystery still surrounds break-in at North Korean embassy in Madrid

A week after a break-in at the North Korean embassy in Madrid, Spanish authorities were on Friday still trying to shed light on the mysterious theft of computers and office equipment.

Mystery still surrounds break-in at North Korean embassy in Madrid
A view of the exterior of the North Korean Embassy. Photo: Google View

Ten men burst into the embassy on February 22nd brandishing fake handguns, according to sources close to the enquiry cited by Spanish media.

The intruders then tied up and gagged several embassy employees before making off with documents, computers and telephones. They escaped in two embassy vehicles with diplomatic plates which were later abandoned.

According to the El Pais newspaper, investigators have not ruled out “political espionage”.

The Spanish government has said little about the mysterious incident.

“An enquiry is underway into what happened,” said a foreign ministry spokesman, without elaborating.

The interior ministry said the North Korean embassy had not filed any official complaint.

North Korea's ambassador to Spain was expelled in 2017 as a “persona non grata” after nuclear tests and missile firings by Pyongyang.

Since then, North Korea has had diplomatic representation in Madrid but no ambassador.

AFP was unable to contact the North Korean embassy by phone for comment.

The only element that the government and police have officially confirmed was that on February 22nd a North Korean woman who was slightly injured was picked up on a street near the embassy.

According to the media, she is believed to have been the one who gave the alert.

Alejandro Cao de Benós, a Spaniard who has worked since 2002 for the Pyongyang regime as a delegate for cultural relations, told AFP what he learned from “administrative technicians”.

“The only thing that I know directly is that there was the theft of computer equipment and mobile phones and that the personnel are fine after having suffered some minor injuries,” said Cao de Benós, who is also president of the Korean Friendship Association.

The former ambassador to Madrid, Kim Hyok Chol, is today the North Korean envoy to the United States and was involved in preparations for the recent summit in Hanoi between Kim Jung Un and Donald Trump. The talks failed to reach a nuclear accord, though both sides say they are keeping the door of diplomacy open.

READ ALSO: Police probe strange incident at Madrid's North Korean embassy

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

DENMARK

Danish chef spent ten years infiltrating North Korea

A Danish chef on a sickness pension spent ten years infiltrating and secretly filming North Korea's foreign influence operation for a documentary, even winning a contract to manufacture military equipment in a third country.

Danish chef spent ten years infiltrating North Korea
Former chef Ulrich Larsen shakes hands with Alejandro Cao de Benós, the 'gatekeeper to North Korea'. Photo: Piraya Films
“The Mole – Undercover in North Korea”, which broadcasts on Swedish, Danish, Norwegian and British TV this Sunday, uses footage shot with hidden cameras Ulrich Larsen brought to meetings in Europe and North Korea, to expose how North Koreans are desperately trying to obtain US dollars and oil for the regime through encouraging foreign investors to break international UN sanctions. 
 
The film is directed by the Danish film maker Mads Brügger, who hired Jim Latrache-Qvortrup to represent an arms dealer called “Mr James”, who accompanied Larsen to meetings and then signed a contract on a visit to Pyongyang with a representative of a North Korean arms factory, with government officials present. 
 
 
Larsen, who had had to give up work due to chronic inflammation of his pancreas, began working on the project out of boredom.  He told Danish broadcaster DR  that he approached Brügger after curiosity about the regime led him to join the Korean Friendship Association (KFA). 
 
There he came into contact with Alejandro Cao de Benós, a Spanish nobleman who presents himself as “the Gatekeeper of North Korea”.
 
“I started with the project to make time go by when I was on sickness benefits,” he told DR. “But when I got started, I became curious. 'Is this possible?” “Is it real?” And I think sometimes it's healthy to sniff at something that seems exciting.” 
 
In 2013, Cao De Benós contacted Larsen, telling him he had three interesting investment projects in North Korea if Larsen could find people with more than 50,000 euros to invest. 
 
It was then that Brügger hired Latrache-Qvortrup, a former foreign legionnaire who had spent eight years in prison for dealing drugs to the rich and famous. 
 
Latrache-Qvortrup then accompanied Larsen on trips to Uganda, Spain, Norway and North Korea to help expose the hermit state's influence operation. 
 
Larsen said he had kept his double life secret from his family. 
 
“My wife was never told at all that what I was doing could be dangerous. Not at all,” he said. “I can see that it's selfish, but if I had told her, I would probably have been told not to come home. At the same time, it was also a way to protect her. Because if she knew I was going out to meet with an arms dealer, she would have been sitting at home a total wreck.” 
 
One of the most tense moments came when Cao De Benós brought a device that detects hidden cameras to a meeting. 
 
Hugh Griffiths, co-ordinator of the UN Panel of Experts on North Korea between 2014 and 2019, told the BBC that he had found the film “highly credible”.
 
“This film is the most severe embarrassment to Chairman Kim Jong-un that we have ever seen,” said Griffiths. “Just because it appears amateurish does not mean the intention to sell and gain foreign currency revenue is not there. Elements of the film really do correspond with what we already know.”
 
 
Larsen told DR that now the film was being broadcast, he was worried that he might face repercussions. 
 
“There is no doubt that some people are going to be pretty angry. I have pissed all over some of these people and lied incredibly. And it's easy to travel around the world, so if they now decide that I should learn a lesson. Or if the North Koreans could think of sending someone after me…”
 
But he said he hoped that would not happen.
 
“I then choose to believe that they are not so… what can I say… low-down practical. But it may be that they want to set an example and scare me, or do something worse. I do not know what will happen.”
SHOW COMMENTS