North Korean diplomat arrives in China for security conference
First time nation has sent delegate to forum in four years amid international concern over Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons programme
A senior North Korean diplomat, who has long been in charge of her country’s talks with the United States, arrived on Monday in China to most likely attend a security conference.
The arrival of Choe Son Hui, deputy chief of the Foreign Ministry’s North American affairs bureau, was confirmed at Beijing Capital International Airport. She did not respond to questions from reporters.
The two-day informal conference from Wednesday, called the Northeast Asia Cooperation Dialogue, brings together government officials and experts from China, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Russia and the United States, the members of long-stalled talks on Pyongyang’s nuclear programme.
The US State Department said on Friday that Sung Kim, special representative for North Korea policy, would visit Beijing from Tuesday to Thursday to hold meetings with Chinese officials and take part in the closed-door security dialogue.
China and Japan are also considering sending their top nuclear negotiators, Wu Dawei and Kenji Kanasugi, to the talks, organised almost every year by the Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation at the University of California, San Diego, according to officials familiar with the situation.