North Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has now called on the authorities in Spain to bring to justice the group that attacked its embassy in Madrid. Over the weekend, the ministry publicly condemned the break-in, which it called a "grave terrorist attack," and stated that it will also be conducting its own investigation into the matter.
The attack on the North Korean embassy in Madrid occurred on February 22. An armed group reportedly broke into the facility and stole several of its equipment. The country's foreign affairs agency claimed that the attackers had bound, beat, and tortured its embassy's staff members before they made their getaway. According to reports, the agency is now investigating rumors of the possible involvement of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and a number of anti-North Korean groups. Although, the country did not explicitly mention that it thought the United States was involved in the attack.
In its public statement, the ministry called the attack a breach of its sovereignty and called on Spain to immediately put those responsible to justice in accordance with international law. Following the attack, a group called the Cheollima Civil Defense (CCD) had claimed responsibility for the raid. However, the group, which proclaims itself as a North Korean dissident organization, denies that any of its members had harmed the embassy's staff. The group also claimed that it did not receive any orders or help from any foreign governments and that its actions were simply a response to the "urgent situation" within the embassy.
Five days after the attack, the group's leader, who is reportedly a US resident, had contacted the FBI with documents revealing the activities that were being conducted within North Korea's embassy in Madrid. According to a document from Spain's High Court, the materials obtained from the raid that was given to the FBI apparently contained audiovisual evidence. The nature of the alleged activities was unfortunately not made public, but the CCD claims that it had voluntarily shared the information with the FBI. The FBI has so far declined to make any comments on the alleged documents it had received and of the allegations of its involvement in the attack.
Meanwhile, the US State Department had released a statement in response to the incident proclaiming that it had nothing to do with what had happened in Spain. The agency's spokesperson, Robert Palladino, clarified that the country is against the attack of any diplomatic facilities or organizations, whether or not it belonged to its allies.
