Spanish Investigators Believe CIA Was Involved in Violent Attack on North Korean Embassy: Report

Two individuals involved in a violent attack on the North Korean embassy in Madrid have reportedly been linked by Spanish authorities to the CIA.

According to the Spanish newspaper El País, which first reported the findings of Madrid investigators, "two of the 10 assailants who broke into the embassy and interrogated diplomatic staff have been identified and have connections to the U.S. intelligence agency."

"Sources believe that the goal of the attack on the North Korean embassy was to get information on Kim Hyok Chol, the former North Korean ambassador to Spain," El País reported on Wednesday.

The CIA has denied involvement in the attack. But, Spanish government sources told El País that the agency's story was "unconvincing."

The attack on the North Korean embassy occurred on Feb. 22, just days before U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un met for a summit in Hanoi.

According to reporting from the BBC, ten masked men broke into the embassy in the middle of the afternoon and took at least eight staffers hostage. One woman was eventually able to climb out of a second-story window and contact Spanish police.

None of the individuals believed to have been involved in the attack have been apprehended.

El País reported that Spanish investigators have ruled out the possibility that the attack was carried out by "common criminals."

"The operation was perfectly planned as if it were carried out by a  military cell,'"El País reported, citing sources close to the ongoing investigation. "The assailants knew what they were looking for, taking only computers and mobile phones."