Spain expels North Korean ambassador over nuclear tests

MADRID – Spain says it is expelling the ambassador of North Korea in response to Pyongyang’s nuclear tests and missile launches over Japan.

The Foreign Ministry said in a tweet that Ambassador Kim Hyok Chol had been called in and informed he was persona non-grata and would have to leave by the end of the month.

Foreign Minister Alfonso Dastis told reporters Monday in New York that Spain had warned the ambassador there would be consequences if the country continued with the tests, which he said posed a serious threat to international peace and security.

Dastis is in New York for the U.N. General Assembly in which the North Korea issue will be among the top issues discussed.