Peacedog wrote:Given the extensive criminal activity that the Norks engage in this is always hard to figure. My understanding is that all of their embassy operations are required to be self financing with a significant cut going back to Kim in North Korea proper.
So, these places engage in a lot of counterfeiting, meth/designer drug sales and God knows what else.
The issue is that when you engage in crime it inevitably means you are dealing with other criminals and this can lead to turf wars. The idiot pot dealer that got himself killed in Cancun a month or so back is a good example of this, even though the press held him up as some kind of anachro-capitalist. The reality was he was growing and dealing in marijuana in Cancun. All of this eventually pissed off the local dealers and producers, so they killed him.
A lot of criminal behavior surrounds Nork embassies due to this. I don't know the numbers, but their "diplomats" frequently get killed for this reason.
That's a pretty loaded response given the article. Kind of reminds me of confidently blaming the 737 Max crash on undertrained locals and their poor maintenance. Oops, turns out it was the Western countries making a buck who were to blame.
There's spin and then there's Spin.
Investigators from the Spanish police and National Intelligence Center (CNI) have linked an attack on the North Korean embassy in Madrid on February 22 to the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). At least two of the 10 assailants who broke into the embassy and interrogated diplomatic staff have been identified and have connections to the US intelligence agency. The CIA has denied any involvement but government sources say their response was “unconvincing.”
If it is proven that the CIA was behind the attack, it could lead to a diplomatic spat between Madrid and Washington. Government sources say that it would be “unacceptable” for an ally to take such action. Not only would it mean that the US agency had operated on Spanish soil without asking for authorization or informing the authorities, it would also be a violation of the international conventions that protect diplomatic delegations.