A shadowy dissident group allegedly behind last month's raid on North Korea's embassy in Madrid promised "bigger things ahead" on Thursday, but said they would temporarily suspend operations because of intense media scrutiny.
The Cheollima Civil Defense (CCD) group emerged from the shadows this week to claim responsibility for a commando-style raid on Pyongyang's embassy to highlight illicit activities rampant in North Korea's foreign missions.
On Wednesday a Spanish court named Adrian Hong Chang, a Mexican national, as being the leader of the group which burst into the diplomatic mission and roughed up employees before fleeing with documents and computers.
"We are a group of defectors who have come together with compatriots around the world," the CCD said in a statement posted on its website.
Various preparations to "shake the Kim Jong Un regime by the root" were underway, it added, but had been hampered by a spike in media interest.
"The activities of the members have been temporarily suspended," it said, adding: "The media should refrain from sticking their nose in the nature of our group and our members. We have bigger things ahead of us."