[Asia Economy New York=Special Correspondent Baek Jong-min] Ri Son-gwon, North Korea's new foreign minister, made his first public appearance and argued that they must stand up to external pressure, but it was later revealed that he left room for dialogue with the United States.
On the 26th (local time), NK News, a U.S.-based North Korea specialist media, reported on the content of Ri's first external speech to the diplomatic corps since his inauguration on the 22nd.
Previously, the Korean Central News Agency reported that Ri said at the event, "We have highly upheld the tasks presented at the 5th Plenary Meeting of the 7th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea and launched a general offensive to break through the difficulties on the path of socialist construction with the power of self-reliance," but no specific details were provided.
According to NK News, Ri evaluated, "Despite unprecedented harsh challenges and difficulties last year, our people strengthened Juche ideology," and claimed, "Based on Juche ideology, we developed the national economy and succeeded in strengthening defense capabilities that guarantee the regime's independence and secure sovereignty." This is interpreted as referring to the completion of new weapon development and progress in ballistic missile development through the missile launch tests North Korea conducted consecutively at the end of the year.
Regarding the outlook for 2020, he emphasized, "Under the leadership of Kim Jong-un, the North Korean people will not yield to the barbaric sanctions and pressure from hostile forces against North Korea."
Ri Son-gwon is from the military, not the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Concerns are growing that his appearance signals a hardline shift in North Korea's foreign policy. He is the figure who caused controversy by saying to South Korean businesspeople visiting Pyongyang, "Does the cold noodles go down your throat?" NK News reported that Ri also made conciliatory remarks, seemingly aware of this.
Ri mentioned, "We can continue friendship and cooperation with countries that recognize the sovereignty of the North Korean government and are friendly to us." This is interpreted as suggesting that if the U.S. eases its hostile policy toward North Korea, relations could improve.
He added, "If mutual understanding is achieved through bilateral or multilateral relations, we expect good results in 2020." This is interpreted as indicating that North Korea is considering not only North Korea-U.S. dialogue but also multilateral talks involving China and Russia.
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