Zhenia Ruth Arce Zepeda, left, Nicaraguan ambassador to South Korea, meet President Yoon Suk Yeol and Foreign Minister Park Jin, right, after presenting her credentials to Yoon, in this file photo taken Oct. 17, 2023. Korea Times photo by Seo Jae-hoon

Nicaragua is expected to shut down its embassy in South Korea for a second time, 10 years after its first closure in the 1990s, apparently due to its fiscal deterioration, officials familiar with the matter said Wednesday.

The Nicaraguan government recently informed South Korea of the decision, and the embassy closure is expected to take place soon, a foreign ministry official in Seoul said.

If carried out, it would be the second time that the Central American nation is closing its embassy in Seoul. The country closed its embassy in South Korea in 1997, citing financial difficulties, only two years after the mission was established. The embassy reopened in October 2014.

Nicaragua withdrew the appointment of its ambassador to South Korea, Zhenia Ruth Arce Zepeda, who assumed the post only nine months ago.

Nicaragua is expected to maintain its diplomatic presence in Seoul by having one of its top envoys stationed in the neighboring countries double as the envoy to Seoul.

The move comes at a time when Nicaragua announced an agreement with North Korea to open an embassy in Pyongyang. Nicaragua is known for its hard-line, anti-U.S. foreign policy.

Nicaragua has yet to send its top envoy to the North, a Seoul official said, adding that the country has lately been closing a number of embassies and consulates in major countries, including Germany, the United States, Mexico and Britain. (Yonhap)