| Submit your comments on this article |
| China-Japan-Koreas |
| Former head of Nork mission to U.N. likely to return |
| 2009-10-27 |
| WASHINGTON, Oct. 26 (Yonhap) -- A former deputy head of the North Korean mission to the United Nations in New York has applied for a visa to come back to his previous post, apparently to buttress improving relations between the North and the United States, sources said Monday. The sources said former Deputy Chief Han Song-ryol will replace the current deputy, Kim Myong-kil, who will return to Pyongyang. "I understand that Kim Myong-kil will soon go back home, but I have no idea of when," a diplomatic source here said Monday. Han as applied for a visa to take up the post again, another source said. "I understand that North Korea wants Han, who served in New York for five years until 2006, to reinforce the New York channel as he is a higher-ranking official." The deputy head of the North Korean mission to the U.N. acts as the North's de facto ambassador to the U.S., while the mission's chief deals solely with affairs related to the global body. Another source said that Han applied for the visa late last month, predicting he will take up his new post in New York late next month. "I think Kim Myong-kil is a bit light in weight to deal with U.S. officials," he said. "That's why the deputy ambassador-level Han is coming." |
| Posted by:Steve White |