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North Korea has appointed veteran diplomat Choe Son-hui as its first feminine international minister, state media reported Saturday, as Pyongyang pushes forward with a blitz of sanctions-busting weapons checks and ignores US requires talks.
Choe, who previously served because the North’s vice international minister, was tapped to guide the international ministry at a ruling celebration assembly overseen by chief Kim Jong Un, the state media KCNA reported.
She replaces Ri Son Gwon, a hardline former navy official who beforehand led talks with the South.
A profession diplomat who speaks fluent English, Choe served as a detailed aide to Kim throughout nuclear talks with the USA and accompanied the North Korean chief to summits with then US president Donald Trump.
She held a uncommon query and reply session with reporters on the evening the 2 leaders’ summit in Hanoi collapsed with out a deal in February 2019, blaming Washington for the failed talks.
“I believe the USA has missed a golden alternative with its rejection of our proposals,” she mentioned.
Diplomacy between Pyongyang and Washington have since stalled, with the Kim regime in latest months not responding to the USA’ repeated presents to return to negotiations.
The nuclear-armed North has in the meantime carried out a blitz of sanctions-busting weapons checks this yr, together with firing an intercontinental ballistic missile at full vary for the primary time since 2017.
US and South Korean officers have additionally warned that Kim’s regime is getting ready to hold out what can be its seventh nuclear check — a transfer that Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman warned would provoke a “swift and forceful” response.
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