hankyoreh

The North Korean diplomats who visited Washington last weekend were here for nongovernmental events and did not have any contact with the U.S. government, the State Department said Tuesday.

Kim Myong-gil, North Korea's deputy chief of mission to the United Nations, was in the U.S. capital Saturday to Sunday with other office staff and family members. Sources who confirmed their visit said the trip was private in nature and that it was mostly for sightseeing.

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the diplomats had come for "nongovernmental meetings" related to North Korea's "cultural day celebrations." It wasn't immediately clear what the events were or who organized them.

"There weren't any U.S. government contacts while they were down here," he said.

Not having formal diplomatic relations, North Korean officials require permission from the State Department when going beyond a 30-mile radius of their Manhattan office.


WASHINGTON, Sept. 11 (Yonhap)