North Korean vice foreign minister to hold vice minister-level talks in Moscow

North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport on the afternoon of Oct. 6. (Yonhap News)

North Korea working to build firmer foundation with China and Russia ahead of NK-US summit

North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui is holding consecutive bilateral talks with Russia and trilateral talks with Russia and China in Moscow on Oct. 8–9 after an earlier visit to Beijing.

Choe was photographed by the foreign press boarding a waiting North Korean embassy vehicle upon her arrival at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport on the afternoon of Oct. 6. When asked about the purpose of her visit, she told reporters she had “come for trilateral negotiations.”

Russia’s government-run TASS news agency quoted the Russian embassy in North Korea as saying Choe would be attending vice minister-level meetings with Russia on Oct. 8 and China and Russia on Oct. 9.

On Oct. 5, Choe held vice minister-level talks in Beijing with Kong Xuanyou, China’s vice minister of foreign affairs and special Chinese government representative on Korean peninsular affairs. North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Oct. 7 that Choe and Kong had “exchanged in-depth views on areas of mutual interest including the current political situation on the Korean Peninsula, which is developed in a positive way thanks to [North Korea’s] leading efforts.”

The trilateral Moscow talks were attended by Choe, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov, and Kong, TASS reported. The three of them also serve as the countries’ respective senior representatives at the Six-Party Talks on the North Korean nuclear issue.

Choe’s recent activities mirror those of Steve Biegun, US State Department special representative for North Korea policy and Six-Party Talks senior representative, who visited South Korea and Japan last month. Among the participants in the Six-Party Talks, North Korea is working to build a firmer foundation with China and Russia ahead of a North Korea-US meeting, while the US does the same with South Korea and Japan.

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Kong Xuanyou (R) met with Choe Son Hui in Beijing on Friday. Photo courtesy of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China

During her visit, Choe is expected to articulate Pyongyang’s position on the denuclearization issue to Beijing and Moscow and confirm their support. Shortly after the North Korea-US summit on June 12, China and Russia undertook a statement to the press at the UN Security Council level announcing plans to ease North Korea sanctions.

At a UNSC meeting on Sept. 27, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi disputed US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s claims that stiff North Korean sanctions must be kept in place until denuclearization occurs. Beijing and Moscow both maintain that sanctions should be at least partially eased now that Pyongyang has adopted certain denuclearization measures, but US objections have blocked that from happening.

Choe is also expected to discuss the issue of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s first-ever Russia visit in her bilateral talks with Russia. While visiting South Korea on Oct. 6, Russian Federation Council Chairperson Valentina Matviyenko said Kim would be “visiting Russia within the year,” adding that Russian President Vladimir Putin “plans to visit South Korea next year.”

Choe remained vague on plans for Kim’s visit.

“I’m not really sure,” she said.

By Kim Oi-hyun, Beijing correspondent

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