North Korean Foreign Minister expected to give keynote address at UN General Assembly

Posted on : 2017-08-22 18:06 KST Modified on : 2017-08-22 18:06 KST
Experts speculate closed door meetings between US-North Korea could take place next month
North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho walks past reporters at a meeting of the ASEAN Regional Forum in Manila
North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho walks past reporters at a meeting of the ASEAN Regional Forum in Manila

North Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs Ri Yong-ho is expected to take part in the UN General Assembly to be held at the UN Headquarters in New York next month for the second year in a row.

A source in Washington claims, “Ri will represent North Korea in the upcoming General Assembly and is expected to give a keynote address.”

In this year’s meeting, which begins on September 19, heads of state and foreign ministers from each country will take turns giving keynote speeches over the course of a week. This means Ri will likely arrive in New York around September 20.

In 2014, then Minister of Foreign Affairs Ri Su-yong (currently Vice Chairman of the 7th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea) gave a speech at the UN General Assembly on behalf of North Korea for the first time in 15 years. Since then, North Korea has sent foreign ministers to the annual meeting for three consecutive years. Ri Yong-ho gave a keynote address last year after being promoted to Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Interest is growing over what Ri will talk about at this year’s General Assembly. At last year’s meeting, which was held soon after North Korea conducted its fifth nuclear test, he said, “The recent test of a nuclear warhead was a practical response to the hostile threat presented by the US,” sending a strong message to the international community.

Experts believe that with the Korea-US Ulchi-Freedom Guardian joint military exercises currently being, the way in which the situation develops will determine the nature of North Korea’s message at the General Assembly. Since North Korea backed down from its threat to attack Guam and the US agreed to temporarily reduce the scale of the Ulchi exercises, if the military drills finish without incident and the two countries are able to build some level of trust, it is possible that meetings may take place behind closed doors.

By Yi Yongi-in, Washington correspondent

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]

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