Kuwait expels North Korean ambassador

Kuwait has recently given the North Korean ambassador a month to leave the kingdom, and will downgrade its diplomatic representation with Pyongyang.

Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah. Photo: AFP

The above information was quoted by AFP as coming from a senior Kuwaiti diplomat on September 17. This unnamed diplomat also said that Kuwait will reduce the presence of North Korean diplomats in the country.

When the North Korean ambassador returns home, the number of North Korean diplomats in Kuwait will be reduced to one attache and three other staff members.

The move is believed to be related to the recent tense situation on the Korean peninsula.

The United Nations on September 11 agreed on new sanctions against North Korea after Pyongyang tested a hydrogen bomb and launched a ballistic missile over Japan.

On September 15, North Korea launched another missile across Japanese territory.

Recent developments have caused North Korea to continuously face the expulsion of ambassadors as well as the cutting of trade relations from other countries such as Peru, Mexico and the Philippines.

The expelled North Korean ambassadors all objected, and maintained that the issue of nuclear development was "a matter between the US and North Korea" and had nothing to do with other countries.

Kuwait, a Gulf state, is a close ally of the United States. The recent expulsion of the North Korean ambassador comes less than two weeks after the Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah visited the United States.

AFP's diplomatic source also confirmed that Kuwait will not renew permits for North Korean workers to return to the country.

There are currently about 2,000 to 2,500 North Korean workers working in Kuwait, as well as thousands more believed to be working in Gulf countries.

However, according to the diplomat, North Korean workers in Kuwait will be forced to return home after completing their projects in "one or two years".

Kuwait also decided to stop issuing visas to North Koreans and suspend all trade relations and flights to Pyongyang.

Asian diplomatic sources told AFP that South Korea and Japan were behind pressure on Gulf states to block remittances from North Korean workers, believing the money would be used by the North Korean government to develop nuclear weapons.

According to Tuoi Tre