North Korea's deputy envoy to the United Nations is expected to be replaced soon by an expert on arms reduction, diplomatic sources here said Wednesday.
Han Song-ryol, deputy head of the country's U.N. mission, is expected to step down next month, the sources said.
Kim Myong-kil, a researcher from an institute of the North's Foreign Ministry on arms reduction and peace, was expected to take the New York post.
A State Department official, asking anonymity, later confirmed the report, saying a visa has already been issued for Kim and that he is expected to take the post early next month.
The North's U.N. mission refused to make any official comment on the report.
The replacement, if it takes place, is expected to weaken the so-called New York channel between Pyongyang and Washington as Han has been working as the communist state's de facto ambassador to the United States, according to the sources.
North Korea and the United States have yet to establish formal diplomatic ties, and dialogue between the two is seen as a critical part of efforts to peacefully resolve ongoing disputes over the North's nuclear and other weapons programs.
Han has been in the post for the past five years although most North Korean diplomats serve three-year terms, according to the sources.
Han's successor is known to have graduated from the North's Kim Il-sung University where he studied English literature.
He is also believed to have studied in Guyana, a country located on the northern coast of South America, and worked as a councilor at the North's mission to the United Nations in 1997.
His latest visit to the United States was in October 2004 when he visited Harvard University and Stanford University along with other officials from his ministry's institute.
New York, Sept. 27 (Yonhap News)
N. Korea's deputy envoy to United Nations to be replaced: sources |
