[北김정은, 대남관계 [Exclusive]절]
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Dangerous trade, including weapons, likely to continue
Officials: “Choi Seon-hee may deal with South Korea”
North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui, who is visiting Moscow, Russia, had a meeting with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on the 16th (local time) and discussed President Vladimir Putin’s schedule for his visit to North Korea. It is known that Choi Sun-hee met with President Putin after the meeting.
According to the Russian state-run RIA Novosti news agency on this day, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, “North Korea and Russia ministers will report to President Putin on the results of the meeting and how the agreements reached at the summit between the two countries last year are progressing.” Spokesperson Peskov also said that President Putin’s visit to North Korea is on the agenda for this meeting. Last September, President Putin accepted North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un’s request to visit North Korea. If President Putin visits North Korea, it will likely be after the Russian presidential election in March.
According to Russia’s Sputnik news agency, Minister Lavrov said on this day, “I would like to continue secret talks on the overall situation on the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia.” This suggests that military cooperation, including arms trade, will continue. Minister Lavrov said, “We will urge the rejection of any measures that threaten North Korea’s security. He also said, “Tension is rising.” Choi Son-hee reportedly said that she hopes President Putin will visit North Korea this year.
As North Korea is accelerating the reorganization of inter-South organizations under Chairman Kim’s instructions, there are observations that Choe Son-hui’s role will become even greater in relation to inter-Korean relations. A high-ranking government official said, “We are paying attention to the high possibility that Choi Sun-hee will come out against the South in the future.” Chairman Kim discarded the existing national perspective and defined inter-Korean relations as a ‘hostile relationship between two countries.’ Accordingly, there is a high possibility that Choi Sun-hee, who is in charge of external relations and is the head of the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will be entrusted with various roles related to South Korea.
The government believes that there is a high possibility that North Korea will merge the Unification Front Department, which has policy and operation functions toward South Korea, under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In the future, the remaining organizations, including the Korean Asia-Pacific Peace Committee and the Korea Federation for Economic Cooperation under the Ministry of Unification, are expected to undergo reorganization. A government official said, “Inter-Korean consultations are also led by North Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and they may ask our Ministry of Foreign Affairs to appear as a counterpart.”
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Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.