Diplomatic Briefing
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Newsline: China ambassador arrives in North Korea
China said Tuesday its new ambassador to North Korea has taken up his post, in a sign the North is reopening amid reports it has been suffering heavily from the COVID-19 pandemic and food shortages. Wang Yajun will help in the development of the traditional friendship between the “close neighbors sharing mountains and rivers,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a daily briefing. (https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/politics/article/china-ambassador-arrives-in-north-korea-in-sign-17863795.php) China is North Korea’s main source of economic aid and political support, but interactions have been disrupted by travel restrictions imposed in an attempt to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Newsline: China Blocks U.S. Webcast of North Korea Meeting at U.N.
China blocked the United States on Wednesday from broadcasting on the internet an informal United Nations Security Council meeting on human rights abuses in North Korea, diplomats said. The meeting will be held on Friday, but the 15 council members have to unanimously agree to allow it to be webcast. Diplomats said it is rare for a broadcast to be blocked. The Security Council has regularly discussed human rights in North Korea since 2014 in public formal meetings and behind closed doors. China and Russia have long said they do not believe the council – charged with maintaining international peace and security – should be discussing human rights in North Korea. China told its council colleagues on Wednesday in an email, seen by Reuters, that the discussion – “won’t bring any benefit, and we have been against the holding of this … meeting from the very beginning.” “Therefore, we have to object to the webcasting of this meeting by UN WebTV,” China said. (https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2023-03-15/china-blocks-u-s-webcast-of-north-korea-rights-meeting-at-u-n) Pyongyang rejects accusations of human rights abuses and blames sanctions for a dire humanitarian situation in North Korea. The country has been under U.N. sanctions over its ballistic missile and nuclear programs since 2006. The aim of the informal council discussion is to spotlight rights abuses in North Korea and “identify opportunities for the international community to promote accountability,” according to a note to council members last week from the United States and elected council member Albania, which is co-hosting the meeting.
Newsline: North Korea said to purge ex-foreign minister
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has purged a former foreign minister who played an instrumental role in his summits with former U.S. President Donald Trump in 2018-19, South Korean lawmakers said, citing intelligence officials. South Korea’s National Intelligence Service told lawmakers that Ri has been purged but it was unclear whether he was executed, said Yoo Sang-bum, a member of the parliamentary intelligence committee. Yoo said the agency did not explain why Ri was purged, and the lawmakers could not confirm the Yomiuri report that also said a few other diplomats who had worked at the North Korean Embassy in Britain were also executed. (https://neuters.de/world/asia-pacific/north-koreas-kim-purges-ex-foreign-minister-south-korean-lawmakers-say-2023-01-05/) Ri Yong Ho has remained out of the public eye since denuclerisation talks with Washington stalled following a failed summit in early 2019 in Vietnam between Kim and Trump, but Japan’s Yomiuri Shimbun reported on Wednesday that he was executed last year, citing unnamed sources. Ri was last mentioned in North Korean state media in April 2020, when he was removed from the State Affairs Commission, a top decision-making body chaired by Kim. He was sacked from the top diplomat job months earlier. A soft-spoken, career diplomat with years of experience in nuclear negotiations, Ri accompanied Kim to both Singapore and Hanoi for summits with Trump in 2018 and 2019, respectively.
Newsline: U.S. says North Korean diplomacy unchanged
The United States said on Friday its diplomatic policy towards North Korea had not changed after a senior U.S. official responsible for nuclear policy raised some eyebrows by saying Washington would be willing to engage in arms-control talks with Pyongyang. Bonnie Jenkins, State Department under secretary for arms control, was asked at a Washington nuclear conference on Thursday at which point North Korea should be treated as an arms-control problem. “If they would have a conversation with us … arms control can always be an option if you have two willing countries willing to sit down at the table and talk,” she replied. “And not just arms control, but risk reduction – everything that leads up to a traditional arms-control treaty and all the different aspects of arms control that we can have with them,” she said. Referring to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, she added: “If he picked up the phone and said, ‘I want to talk about arms control,’ we’re not going to say no. I think, if anything, we would want to explore what that means.” Some experts argue that recognizing North Korea as a nuclear-armed state, something Pyongyang seeks, is a prerequisite for such talks. But Washington has long argued that the North Korean nuclear program is illegal and subject to United Nations sanctions. Asked about Jenkins’ comment, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said: “I want to be very clear about this. There has been no change to U.S. policy.” Price said U.S. policy remained “the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” while adding, “we continue to be open to diplomacy with the DPRK, we continue to reach out to the DPRK, we’re committed to pursuing a diplomatic approach. We’re prepared to meet without preconditions and we call on the DPRK to engage in serious and sustained diplomacy.” (https://news.yahoo.com/u-says-north-korea-policy-020444741.html) The United States and its allies are concerned that North Korea may be about to resume nuclear bomb testing for the first time since 2017. North Korea has rejected U.S. calls to return to talks.
Newsline: U.S. Diplomat to Discuss North Korea’s Missile Launches With Japan, South Korean Counterparts
Deputy U.S. Secretary of State Wendy Sherman will discuss North Korea’s recent missile launches, along with other issues of regional security including China and Taiwan, at meetings with her Japanese and South Korean counterparts in Tokyo next week, a senior State Department official said. (https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2022-10-20/u-s-diplomat-sherman-to-discuss-n-korea-missile-launches-with-japan-s-korean-counterparts-official) “We will discuss a range of issues, including the DPRK’s numerous ballistic missile launches this year, the PRC (People’s Republic of China), and Russia’s unprovoked and devastating war against Ukraine,” the official said while briefing reporters on the talks from Oct. 24-26, adding the officials will also discuss tensions over Taiwan.
Newsline: Diplomats from Japan, US, South Korea reaffirm joint stance on North Korea
Diplomats from Japan, the United States and South Korea reaffirmed their commitment on Wednesday to working together in response to any threat from North Korea, including a possible new nuclear test. The three senior diplomats in charge of North Korean affairs also underscored their efforts to strengthen their security partnership. Takehiro Funakoshi, director-general of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau of Japan’s Foreign Ministry, said the focus of the trilateral cooperation is North Korea and its accelerating nuclear and missile development. Sung Kim, the U.S. special envoy for North Korea, said the three countries are prepared for “all contingencies … in responding to (North Korea’s) provocations” and to protect allies in the region. Kim Gunn, South Korea’s special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, called for further efforts to ensure full implementation of sanctions against North Korea under United Nations Security Council resolutions. Funakoshi said he and his U.S. and South Korean counterparts, Sung Kim and Kim Gunn, were to discuss their countries’ responses to North Korea as they work together to enhance regional deterrence amid “a looming possibility of further provocations including another nuclear test.” (https://wtop.com/asia/2022/09/japan-us-s-korea-reaffirm-joint-response-to-n-korea-threat/) North Korea last conducted a nuclear test, its sixth, in 2017, and experts have noted signs of preparations for another test.
Newsline: Lawmaker says missing North Korean diplomat has settled in South Korea
A former senior North Korean diplomat who disappeared from his country’s embassy in Italy in 2018 has settled in South Korea, a lawmaker in Seoul said on Tuesday. Jo Song Gil, who was North Korea’s acting ambassador to Italy, disappeared with his wife after leaving the embassy without notice in early November 2018, and his whereabouts have been unclear since. (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-southkorea-diplomat/lawmaker-says-missing-north-korean-diplomat-has-settled-in-south-korea-idUSKBN26R2EY) In a post on Facebook, Ha Tae-keung, a South Korean opposition party lawmaker who sits on parliament’s intelligence committee, said that Jo had settled in South Korea last year under the protection of the government.
Newsline: Swedish diplomats leave North Korea, but embassy remains open
Officials say Swedish staff have left the country’s embassy in North Korea but the mission remains open and is being staffed by local employees. A Foreign Ministry spokesman says the staff were temporarily relocated. He says the situation in North Korea for diplomats and international organizations has become more difficult, partly due to the coronavirus. (https://wbng.com/2020/08/18/swedish-diplomats-leave-n-korea-but-embassy-remains-open/) North Korea has imposed a lockdown and shut its border with China, its main ally and economic lifeline, in response to the coronavirus. Sweden has had diplomatic relations with North Korea since 1973 and is one of the few Western countries with an embassy there. It provides consular services for the U.S. in North Korea.
Newsline: New North Korean ambassador to Iran talks “common enemy” U.S.
North Korea’s new ambassador to Iran was confirmed in a meeting with President Hassan Rouhani, with both officials reportedly discussing their “common enemy” in Washington. The Iranian President’s office reported that Rouhani expressed hopes to “further deepen” bilateral ties, with both Rouhani and Ambassador Han Song U sharing an anti-American stance. Rouhani reportedly stated that “U.S. officials have always been oppressive against governments and nations such as Iran and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,” and that the two leaders “must stand stronger than ever against their extravagance and bullying.” Ambassador Han also allegedly agreed on the “need to work for the development of relations between the two countries,” further stating that “confronting U.S. extravagance and hegemony is a common ground” between Iran and North Korea. (https://www.nknews.org/2020/06/new-north-korean-ambassador-to-iran-meets-rouhani-talks-common-enemy-u-s/) But North Korean state media seemed to opt out of the overtly anti-American angle, instead focusing on Iran and North Korea’s will to strengthen mutual ties during the meeting.
Newsline: After Blowing Up De Facto Embassy With South Korea, Pyongyang Continues Provocations
A day after blowing up the de facto inter-Korean embassy, North Korea continued to ratchet up military pressure on the South, announcing the re-deployment of its forces near the border and angrily rejecting Seoul’s offer to send envoys to reduce tensions. As of Wednesday, North Korea’s military will reenter the area near the Mt. Kumgang resort area and the Kaesong industrial complex, according to a spokesperson for the Korean People’s Army in the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). In addition, guard posts that had previously been abandoned “will be set up again to strengthen the guard over the front line,” and North Korea will also resume “all kinds of regular military exercises” in the area near the country’s sea border with South Korea, KCNA reported. (https://www.voanews.com/east-asia-pacific/after-blowing-de-facto-embassy-north-korea-continues-provocations) Combined with its moves over the past week, North Korea has now reversed many of the achievements made during a series of historic 2018 meetings between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in. On Tuesday, North Korea used controlled explosives to demolish the inter-Korean liaison center just north of the border. Last week, Pyongyang said it would cut off all official channels of dialogue with Seoul.
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