Rumors of Ri Yong-ho's Dismissal... Ministry of Unification Says "Too Early to Judge Changes in Position or Status"

"It is difficult to make such an evaluation just because someone was missing from the group photo"

On June 30 last year, Kim Jong-un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea, attracted attention by bringing elite aides to his meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump at Panmunjom. From the left are Kim Chang-son, director of the State Affairs Commission in charge of protocol for Chairman Kim; his younger sister Kim Yo-jong, first deputy director; Ri Yong-ho, foreign minister; and Choe Son-hui, first vice minister of foreign affairs.

Regarding the possibility of the fall of Ri Yong-ho, one of North Korea's key figures in diplomacy with the United States, the Ministry of Unification stated on the 3rd that it is still difficult to determine whether this is the case.

Kim Eun-han, deputy spokesperson of the Ministry of Unification, responded at a regular briefing held at the Government Seoul Office on the same day to a question about why Ri Yong-ho was absent from a recent group photo released by North Korea, saying, "It is necessary to take more time and carefully observe before concluding that there has been a change in Ri Yong-ho's position or status based on the inability to identify him in the photo."

However, he confirmed the related fact by stating, "Ri Yong-ho was not identifiable in the commemorative photo taken after the plenary meeting of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party."

In fact, in the group commemorative photo of the 7th Central Committee's 5th plenary meeting of the Workers' Party of Korea released by the Rodong Sinmun on the 1st, Ri Yong-ho's figure is not visible. Given the deadlock in North Korea-U.S. relations, some speculate that North Korea may have reshuffled its U.S. diplomatic line once again.

After the Hanoi North Korea-U.S. summit ended with no deal in February last year, North Korea significantly reshuffled its diplomatic line toward the U.S., putting forward Ri Yong-ho and Choe Son-hui, the first vice foreign minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

However, although North Korea announced personnel changes in the report on the plenary meeting on the 1st, it did not mention a new foreign minister. Therefore, the prevailing view is that it is difficult to predict Ri Yong-ho's fall from grace.

Meanwhile, regarding some domestic media reports that North Korea and the U.S. restarted the New York channel at the end of last year, Deputy Spokesperson Kim said, "There is nothing to confirm."