Swedish Charge D'Affairs in Pyongyang Erik Cornell reports, after a conversation with the country's Deputy Foreign Ministe, that the North Korean government is distancing itself from its diplomats' smuggling and resents the unilateral decisions taken in Copenhagen and Oslo to expel North Korean diplomats. Cornell also notes the vulnerable position of the Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang and urges caution.

A memo on talks between Nordic ambassadors in Beijing and their North Korean counterpart on the smuggling affair.

This cable discusses coverage of the North Korean smuggling scandals in the Norwegian press.

This cable reproduces a Norwegian Daily Aftenposten report on a meeting between the North Korean, Norwegian, Danish, and Finnish Ambassadors in Peking, China. It focuses especially on North Korean desires to maintain relationships with the Nordic countries.

A summary of the North Korean smuggling scandal in Scandinavia produced by the US intelligence community.

The CIA reports that Norway and Denmark have expelled North Korean diplomats for smuggling alcohol and tobacco.

Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland expelled all embassy workers from DPRK, accusing them of smuggling weapons, alcohol and cigarettes.The Chairman of the Central Information Group (Zentrale Auswertungs- und Informationsgruppe) of the GDR requests the Deputy Minister check all Korean embassy workers, including diplomats and their relative, and to keep them under careful surveillance.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has reversed its decision to reply to the North Korean letter denying smuggling activities in Oslo.

The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs states that evidence of smuggling in the North Korean Embassy in Oslo is "incontrovertible" and the decision to expel embassy personnel "fully justified."

Front page article from the Washington Post on the North Korean smuggling scandal.