Spanish Foreign Ministry Decides to Cut Diplomatic Staff in N.Korean Embassy

The Spanish Foreign Ministry summoned North Korea's Ambassador and informed him on plans to reduce North Korean diplomatic personnel in Madrid in wake of Pyongyang's recent missile launch, the ministry said Thursday in a communique.

MADRID (Sputnik) — "The Spanish Foreign Ministry warned North Korea's embassy that continuing these actions would have consequences for bilateral relations… The decision to reduce the number of diplomatic staff of North Korea's embassy in Madrid has been made," the document read.

The ministry also reiterated its criticism of the recent missile launch.

"Spain has condemned nuclear tests and launches of ballistic missiles by North Korea in violation of the relevant UN Security Council resolutions. North Korea undermines the nuclear non-proliferation regime and creates a serious threat to peace and global security," the document said.

The situation on the Korean Peninsula has become aggravated in recent months due to Pyongyang's missile launches and nuclear tests, all conducted in violation of the UN Security Council resolutions. The most recent test was conducted on Tuesday, when North Korea launched an intermediate-range Hwasong-12 ballistic missile, which flew over Japan before falling into the Pacific Ocean 733 miles east of Japan's northern island Hokkaido.

Same day, the UN Security Council held closed consultations on North Korea followed by an open meeting. Council President and Egyptian Ambassador to the United Nations Amr Abdellatif Aboulatta read a presidential statement, adopted as a result of the consultations, which condemned the missile launches and called for immediate actions to ease tensions on the peninsula and globally.