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NKOREA-POLITICS-DIPLOMACY
Former army officer appointed North Korea’s new top diplomat
SEOUL, Jan 24, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – North Korea has appointed a former army
officer with little diplomatic experience as its new foreign minister, state
media confirmed Friday, reflecting Pyongyang’s already declared hard-line
policy toward the US.
Speculation had mounted that the country’s foreign minister Ri Yong Ho had
been replaced by former defense commander Ri Son Gwon as part of a major
reshuffle during stalled nuclear talks with Washington.
Unlike his predecessor — who served as a diplomat for more than three
decades — the newly appointed Ri is known to have little diplomatic
experience.
He went to a reception for foreign envoys as the nation’s top diplomat,
confirming his appointment, state media said Friday.
Attending was “DPRK Foreign Minister Ri Son Gwon and other officials of the
ministry,” state media reported — using North Korea’s official name.
Analysts say his appointment could indicate the country will take a harder
line with the US, in line with Pyongyang abandoning its nuclear and missile
test moratoriums earlier this year — and after Washington missed the North’s
2019 deadline for nuclear talks.
“Having a former army officer as its top diplomat symbolises the North’s
uncompromising stance against Washington,” Ahn Chan-il, a North Korean
defector and researcher in Seoul, told AFP.
“It’s very rare for someone with military background to be tapped as
Pyongyang’s foreign minister.”
Negotiations between North Korea and the US have been deadlocked since a
second summit collapsed in Hanoi last year over sanctions relief and what
Pyongyang would be willing to give up in return.
North Korea has since ended its moratorium on nuclear and intercontinental
ballistic missile tests and said it will not return to talks unless
Washington first meets all its demands in full.
BSS/AFP/MSY/1124 hrs