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DPRK, diplomatically isolated and squeezed by UN sanctions, has appointed as foreign minister its negotiator at failed international talks aimed at getting it to disarm, according to a DPRK diplomatic note to Britain.
Ri Yong-ho, 59, replaces Ri Su-yong, who has been one of the highest-profile officials of a country whose current leader, Kim Jong-un, has not travelled abroad since taking power following the death of his father in 2011.
Ri Yong-ho, most recently vice foreign minister, represented DPRK at six-party talks on DPRK’s nuclear programme, which fell apart after their last round in 2008.
DPRK’s former nuclear negotiator Ri Yong-ho,left. Photo: AP
China, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the United States were the other parties to the talks.
Ri, a former ambassador to Britain, is likely to be responsible for making DPRK’s case at the United Nations.
The UN Security Council in March imposed tough new sanctions against DPRK in response to its fourth nuclear test in January and the launch of a long-range rocket the next month.
The New York Times reported that among outside analysts, Mr. Ri has been widely cited as a possible new foreign minister since his boss, the departing Foreign Minister Ri Su-yong, was promoted to become a member of the Politburo of the ruling Workers’ Party during the party’s rare congress this month.
In the party leadership reshuffle, Ri Yong-ho, who had served as a vice foreign minister under the other Mr. Ri, was made an alternate member of the Politburo.
According to BBC, some analysts say the appointment could be a sign Pyongyang is seeking to build bridges after it conducted its fourth nuclear test, a satellite launch and several missile tests.
Those move led to a new round of sanctions from the UN and individual countries. The US and South Korea have said they will not return to the negotiating table until DPRK acts on past nuclear disarmament pledges.
DPRK's state media has not announced Ri’s appointment but DPRK’s embassy in Britain informed the British Foreign Office of his appointment in a note dated May 16, and seen by Reuters on Tuesday.
Ri Yong-ho, left, in Singapore in 2015. He was DPRK’s senior nuclear negotiator at the time. Photo: Associated Press
Lee Ji-sue, a DPRK expert at South Korea’s Myongji University, said the change at the ministry did not signal a DPRK's change in approach.
“Like Ri Su-yong who took orders from Kim Jong-il and Kim Jong-un, Ri Yong-ho won’t have much say in foreign policies,” he said. Kim Jong-il was the current leader’s father.
Outgoing foreign minister Ri, 76, a well-travelled career diplomat, was named a member of the politburo during a recent congress of the ruling Workers’ Party.
(SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST, BBC,THE NEW YORK TIMES)
