Han Song-ryol (Korean pronunciation: [han.sʌŋ.ɾjʌl], 17 June 1954[3] — c. February 2019[4]) was a Former Vice Foreign Minister at North Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.[5] Previously, he served as the deputy chief of North Korea's mission to the United Nations from 2002 to 2006.[6] In this role, he traveled to New Mexico to meet with then-Gov. Bill Richardson, a former diplomat and frequent American interlocutor in negotiations with North Korea and other adversarial regimes.[7]
| Han Song-ryol | |
| Chosŏn'gŭl | 한성렬[1] |
|---|---|
| Hancha | 韓成烈[2] |
| Revised Romanization | Han Seong-ryeol |
| McCune–Reischauer | Han Sŏng-ryŏl |
| IPA | han.sʌŋ.ɾjʌl |
In February 2015, he was appointed as director-general of the U.S. affairs department at North Korea's Foreign Ministry.[8]
In 2024, a North Korean defector and former diplomat reported that Han had been executed in February 2019.[4]
Reported execution
editIn South Korea in 2019, reports emerged that Han Seong-yeol had been punished for being a revolutionary along with five other executives at the director level, and that he was undergoing ideological training at the Gundeok Mine in South Hamgyong Province. His name was removed from the 2019 edition of the North Korean Directory published by the South Korean Ministry of Unification. It is speculated that the reason for his downfall was that he was criticized for the proposal for a US-North Korea summit that he submitted to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and that he was involved in the Jang Seong-taek incident in 2013.[9]
In July 2024, Ri Il Kyu, a former North Korean diplomat and defector, told The Chosun Ilbo that Han had been executed by firing squad in February 2019 on charges of spying for the United States.[4]
References
edit- ^ "한성렬 외무성 부상이 주조 로씨야대사와 만났다". Korean Central News Agency (in Korean). Pyongyang. May 25, 2017.
- ^ "한성렬( 韓成烈 )". 조선일보 동북아연구소 (in Korean). Chosun Ilbo. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
- ^ 한성렬(남성) (in Korean). Ministry of Unification. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
- ^ a b c Sang-Hun, Choe (16 July 2024). "North Korean Diplomat Defects to the South, Shares News of Political Purge". The New York Times.
- ^ Shifts in North Korea’s Foreign Ministry and Nuclear Communications. 38 North, 11 October 2016.
- ^ "N. Korea names new point man on U.S. affairs". The Korea Times. Archived from the original on April 14, 2017.
- ^ Kessler, Glenn (10 January 2003). "N. Koreans Meet With Richardson". Washington Post. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
- ^ Talmadge, Eric (28 July 2016). "N. Korea: US Has Crossed Red Line, Relations on War Footing". ABC News. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
- ^ "北朝鮮の米国通・韓成烈外務次官が失脚、鉱山送りに". 朝鮮日報. 2019-01-30. Retrieved 2019-02-03.
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