North Korea was found to have closed its diplomatic missions in Hong Kong and Libya. 

A foreign ministry official revealed the assessment on Tuesday, saying the latest move reduces the number of North Korean diplomatic missions in the world to 44. 

The foreign ministry had earlier revealed that the North had completed removing its diplomatic missions in seven countries in early December of last year, including Nepal, Bangladesh and Senegal, bringing down the number of such missions from 53 to 46. 

The North has said it is rearranging such missions abroad for the sake of efficiently reassigning its diplomatic capacity. 

Seoul believes the reorganization is the result of the North’s financial hardship, including difficulty in securing foreign currency due to strict international sanctions.