Anchor: A growing number of countries are expelling North Korean ambassadors stationed in their countries in response to the North’s nuclear and missile provocations. Spain became the most recent country to make such a move.
Our Bae Joo-yon has more.
 
Report: The Spanish foreign ministry on Monday asked the North Korean ambassador to Spain to leave the country in protest of Pyongyang's missile and nuclear weapons program.
 
The ministry said in a statement that the ambassador has been declared a persona non grata, criticizing the North's nuclear tests as a grave threat to peace.

The ambassador has until the end of the month to leave. 
 
Spain is following in the footsteps of Mexico and Peru and is the first European country to expel its North Korean ambassador due to Pyongyang’s nuclear issue.
 
In the Middle East, Kuwait decided to reduce the number of North Korean diplomats serving in the country from eight to four and to deport North Korean Ambassador to Kuwait So Chang-sik.
 
The Philippines, which is one of the North’s three key trading partners, announced it will fully suspend trade with the North while Thailand is said to have drastically reduced its economic ties with Pyongyang.
 
It remains to be seen if more countries will take steps to expel North Korean diplomats as U.S. President Donald Trump is set to urge world leaders at the UN General Assembly in New York this week to further pressure the North.
 
Efforts to cut off ties with the North are also actively under way at the U.S. Congress.
 
Senator Cory Gardner who is the chairman of the Subcommittee on East Asia and the Pacific sent a letter last week to 21 countries with missions in North Korea and urged them to sever relations with the North. He also called on the countries to support efforts to take away the North’s UN membership.
Bae Joo-yon, KBS World Radio News. 

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