N.K. six-party delegate denied entry to U.S.

Ri Gun’s visa application rejected by State Department

The U.S. State Department refused to issue a visa for North Korea’s deputy chief delegate of the six-party talks. Ri Gun, director-general of the North American division of North Korean Foreign Ministry, was going to attend academic seminars in late July organized by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Stanford University in a capacity as a researcher at the Institute for Peace and Disarmament.

According to a source in Washington who wished to remain unnamed, "The State Department reviewed Ri’s visa application, but has decided to reject it after the North launched missiles."

Regarding Ri’s visa application, a U.S. State Department official, also asking to remain anonymous, said in mid-June, "The exact dates [for his visit] are not yet fixed," adding that the department was reviewing whether or not to issue the visa even before the missile test-launch.

Several planned events have been stalled after North Korea abruptly test-launched seven missiles on July 5 local time. Before this, North Korean human rights special envoy Jay Lefkowitz planned to visit the Kaesong (Gaeseong) Industrial Complex in North Korea in July, but he cancelled his plans after Pyongyang’s missile test-launches. A visit to Pyongyang by former South Korean president Kim Dae-jung has also been shelved indefinitely.