SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea is poised to close as many as a dozen embassies including in Spain, Hong Kong and multiple countries in Africa, according to media reports and analysts, in a move that could see nearly 25 percent of Pyongyang’s missions close worldwide. North Korea’s recent closing of its diplomatic missions is a sign that the reclusive country is struggling to make money overseas because of international sanctions, South Korea’s unification ministry said on Tuesday. Both Angola and Uganda have forged friendly ties with North Korea since the 1970s, maintaining military cooperation and providing rare sources of foreign currency such as statue-building projects. North Korea will also shut down its embassy in Spain, with its mission in Italy handling affairs in the neighboring country, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported. Correspondence with the Spanish Communist Party released on the party’s website showed the North Korean Embassy announcing the closing in a letter dated Oct. 26.
