By Ko Dong-hwan







More than 150 North Korean workers have left Angola following stronger sanctions against Pyongyang.







Angola's Foreign Minister Manuel Augusto said on the state TV network that 154 North Koreans who had been working on construction projects left the southern African country on Sunday and Monday.







North Korean building company Mansudae employed the workers. The company built monuments under the terms of a cooperation deal between the two countries.







Augusto said Angola "needed to meet international obligations" and "as their contract had finished, we saw no reason why they should stay in the country," according to AFP.







Angola is one of 11 African countries the United Nations alleges maintains military ties with North Korea's Kim Jong-un regime. UN officials said in September they had received no response from Luanda to the allegation.







Augusto previously said Angola respects UN Security Council resolution 2371 that imposes tough sanctions on North Korean companies in response to Pyongyang's missile tests and nuclear program.







"We have international obligations that we have to meet," Augusto said. "But that doesn't mean we sever our ties with North Korea. It's an ally that has historically been with our country, so our relations with North Korea will remain."







North Korea formed friendly relations with African countries during their wars of independence and during the Cold War.

