N. Korea yet to recognize Libya's rebel council

TRIPOLI, Aug. 30 (Yonhap) -- North Korea has yet to officially recognize Libya's rebel-led council as the North African nation's legitimate governing authority, an official at the North Korean embassy in Tripoli said this week.
Asked whether the Pyongyang government has granted recognition to Libya's National Transitional Council (NTC), the official said, "Not yet ... (we'll have to) wait and see." The official, who wished to remain unidentified, was speaking to reporters at the North Korean embassy in Tripoli on Monday.



More than 60 countries, including South Korea, have recognized the NTC since its formation by Libya's rebel forces against the regime of Moammar Gadhafi last February.
The official also confirmed reports that some 200 North Koreans are currently working in Libya as doctors, nurses and construction workers. About their safety, the official said some have returned home, although others have not been able to leave due to difficulties in transit.
"We will deal with them depending on the circumstances," the official said.
The remarks contrast with comments by a source familiar with North Korean affairs, who told Yonhap News Agency in April that Pyongyang ordered its people in Libya not to return home, as they may spread news of the anti-government uprisings across North Africa and the Middle East.
The North Korean embassy building has not been looted or damaged in the six-month-long conflict, the official said. In the past week, the South Korean embassy building and ambassador's residence in Tripoli were attacked by armed robbers, although no one was hurt in either incident.
Between the two Koreas, Pyongyang was first to establish diplomatic relations with Tripoli in 1974.
"(We) hope for peace and stability (in Libya)," the official said, adding that future relations between the nations will depend on the North African nation's stability.
Pyongyang has yet to send a new ambassador to Tripoli, after the previous envoy returned to North Korea upon completing his term, the official said.
hague@yna.co.kr