North Korean Embassy in Madrid incident

Historical eventFebruary 222019

North Korean Embassy in Madrid incident

A group broke into the North Korean embassy in Madrid, Spain, and stole several mobile telephones and digital storage devices.

Everything on February 22Original source
Photo: North Korean Embassy in Madrid · Public domain

In context

When
Friday, February 22 20197 years ago
Category
Historical eventA dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
Era
21st century · 2010s
Recorded from
Wikipedia “On this day” feed

At a glance

Dates: From 2019-02-22.

Place: embassy of North Korea, Madrid.

Type: military raid.

Key figures / parties: Free Joseon.

What came before

Background Logo of Free Joseon Free Joseon — also known as Cheollima Civil Defense — the group alleged to have carried out the attack, has been described by The Washington Post as a "secretive dissident organization" and a "shadowy group trying to overthrow Kim Jong Un ", [ 1 ] whose government they claim to be an "immoral and illegitimate regime". [ 2 ] Free Joseon is alleged to be composed primarily of North Korean defectors , [ 3 ]

What happened

Attack 50m 55yds Madrid Embassy of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea Entrance 2 Entrance 1     Grounds of the Embassy The group began its operation two weeks in advance, when Hong Chang, using the alias Matthew Chao and posing as managing partner of fictional investment firm "Baron Stone Capital", had a brief meeting with commercial attaché Yun Suk So regarding investment in the DPRK. [ 1 ] Around 16:34 CET [ 2 ] on Friday, 22 February 2019,

On 22 February 2019 at the Embassy of North Korea in Madrid, the political group Free Joseon, which is opposed to Kim Jong Un and the current government of North Korea, is alleged by Spanish and American authorities to have attacked the embassy. Free Joseon maintains that they were invited in to facilitate a high-level defection. A group of individuals stole mobile telephones,

February 22 through the years

Other entries on the same calendar day, in order.

  1. 20052005 Zarand earthquake
  2. 2006Securitas depot robbery
  3. 2006UTC+03:00
  4. 20112011 Christchurch earthquake
  5. 20112011 Bahraini uprising
  6. 20122012 Buenos Aires rail disaster
  7. 2014Viktor Yanukovych
  8. 2015Sinking of ML Mostofa-3
  9. 20182018 United States embassy attack in Podgorica
  10. 2019North Korean Embassy in Madrid incident
  11. 2022Twosday

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Everything we record for 2019 →

Sources

Cite this page

“North Korean Embassy in Madrid incident”, What's On This Date, https://whatsonthisdate.com/app/event/north-korean-embassy-in-madrid-incident-2019-february-22, accessed October 28, 2026.

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Questions about this entry

When did North Korean Embassy in Madrid incident happen?

February 22 2019 — 7 years ago, on a Friday.

Where does this text come from?

Wikipedia “On this day” feed. Summaries are short adaptations that link back to the source, not reprints.

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