Unification ministry yet to verify if N. Korea appointed Ri Son-gwon as new FM
통일부 "北 외무상 교체 확인 중"... 北, 북미 향후 핵협상서 강경 노선 예고
According to some reports, North Korea's long-time top diplomat has been replaced by a former military officer known to be a hardliner.
Kim Ji-yeon zooms in on the move, widely seen as Pyeongyang warning to the U.S., that the regime won't budge in denuclearization talks unless Washington changes course.
The South Korean government says it's working to verify reports on whether North Korea has appointed Ri Son-gwon, an official who had handled inter-Korean affairs, as its new foreign minister.
South Korea's unification ministry said Monday the North has yet to confirm the appointment of Ri Son-gwon, who is currently chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country... the ministry's North Korean counterpart.
Local media, citing a government official over the weekend, reported that the North has notified foreign ambassadors in Pyeongyang... of the replacement of Ri Yong-ho, who had led denuclearization talks with the U.S.
The official said the replacement is also a form of punishment of Ri Yong-ho, for the stalled denuclearization talks between Pyeongyang and Washington.
"We are working to confirm the replacement and whether the status of Ri Son-gwon has changed or not."
If the appointment is confirmed, local media outlets see the move to appoint a former military officer and hardliner such as Ri Son-gwon as the top diplomat, despite his lack of experience,... as aimed to pressure the U.S. for more concessions in denuclearization talks.
Ri Son-gwon had headed the North Korean delegation for high-level talks with South Korea, including the meeting in August 2018 that led to the inter-Korean summit in the North's capital the following month.
Ri is widely known among the South Korean media as rather hot-tempered.
During the September 2018 summit, Ri is said to have shown this temper when he criticized the CEOs of the South Korean business delegation that accompanied President Moon Jae-in to Pyeongyang... saying "how can the cold noodles be taken down your throats", roughly meaning how can you sit there and eat with everything that's going on.
Kim Ji-yeon, Arirang News.
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