Ri Su-yong (; born 15 June 1940), also known as Ri Chol (), is a

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

n diplomat and politician, serving as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of North Korea from April 2014 until May 2016. Ri has served as a diplomat to Switzerland, and has represented North Korea at the United Nations mission in Geneva. He is the third North Korean foreign minister to speak before the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...

Career

Ri was the North Korean representative to the United Nations mission in Geneva in the 1980s. Ri was the North Korean ambassador to Switzerland in the 1990s. Before holding these posts he had worked in African embassies of North Korea. Ri was the vice-director of the

Organization and Guidance Department The Organization and Guidance Department (OGD) is a department of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), the ruling party of North Korea. Its central responsibility is to implement the directives and teachings of the ''Suryeo ...

in 2002. Ri was the Minister of Foreign Affairs of North Korea from April 2014 to May 2016. He was appointed to the post in the first session of the 13th Supreme People's Assembly in 2014, replacing

Pak Ui-chun Pak Ui-chun ( or ; born 1935) is a North Korean diplomat and politician. He was the minister for foreign affairs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and was replaced by Ri Su-yong following the 2014 North Korean parliamentary election ...

. Outside observers hailed the appointment as the most important in the cabinet, suggesting his close relationship with Kim Jong-un and Kim Yo-jong played part. It was also suggested that this may indicate change in the traditionally weak role of the Foreign Minister in North Korea. In 2014, Ri attended the

(UNGA) at the time when the United Nations Commission of Inquiry (COI) on Human Rights in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea was being discussed. Ri was the first North Korean foreign minister to attend the UNGA in 15 years (and only the third ever, since

Kim Yong-nam Kim or KIM may refer to: Names * Kim (given name) * Kim (surname) ** Kim (Korean surname) *** Kim family (disambiguation), several dynasties **** Kim family (North Korea), the rulers of North Korea since Kim Il-sung in 1948 ** Kim, Vietnamese f ...

in 1992 and

Paek Nam-sun Paek Nam-sun ( or ; March 13, 1929 – January 2, 2007) was the North Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1998 until his death. He was one of the few North Koreans to frequently be in the international spotlight. Early life Paek was ...

in 1999), signifying that North Korea took the allegations made by the COI very seriously. Ri attended the UNGA again in 2015 to mark the 70th anniversary session of the UNGA. In his statement to the assembly, described as unsurprising, Ri called for the United States to work toward a peace treaty in Korea in exchange for "dramatic improvement" in security of the Korean peninsula. In April 2014, Ri was also the first North Korean foreign minister to visit

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

in at least 25 years. He met with Indian foreign minister

Sushma Swaraj Sushma Swaraj () (''née'' Sharma; 14 February 1952 – 6 August 2019) was an Indian lawyer, politician, and diplomat who served as the Minister of External Affairs of India in the first Narendra Modi government from 2014 to 2019. She is only ...

to discuss North Korean nuclear program and regional security issues. Ri also met with Indian Vice President

Hamid Ansari Hamid refers to two different but related Arabic given names, both of which come from the Arabic triconsonantal root of Ḥ-M-D (ِِح-م-د): # (Arabic: حَامِد ''ḥāmid'') also spelled Haamed, Hamid or Hamed, and in Turkish Hamit; i ...

. It is also possible that Ri sought Indian economic aid, or increased trade. India had given 1 million U.S. dollars as emergency aid through

World Food Program The World Food Programme; it, Programma alimentare mondiale; es, Programa Mundial de Alimentos; ar, برنامج الأغذية العالمي, translit=barnamaj al'aghdhiat alealami; russian: Всемирная продовольствен� ...

in 2011. In May 2016, Ri Su-yong was replaced by Ri Yong-ho as the foreign minister. The shuffle was followed by the

7th Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea The 7th Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), the ruling party of North Korea, was held on 6–9 May 2016. Background The 7th Congress was the first Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea held since the 6th Congress in 1980. In ...

, which elected Ri Su-yong a full member and Vice Chairman of the

7th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea The 7th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea was elected by the 7th Congress on 9 May 2016, and remained in session until the election of the 8th Central Committee on 10 January 2021. In between party congresses and specially conven ...

, a full member of the

Politburo of the Workers' Party of Korea In North Korea, the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), or simply the Politburo, formerly the Political Committee (1946–61), is the highest decision-making body in the ruling party between sessions ...

, and the director of the party's International Relations Department. He was also appointed to the

State Affairs Commission The State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (SAC) is defined by the 2016 constitution as "the supreme policy-oriented leadership body of State power." The current president of the SAC, which is defined by the same ...

. In 2017, he was elected chairman of the Diplomatic Commission of the

Supreme People's Assembly The Supreme People's Assembly (SPA; ) is the unicameral legislature of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), commonly known as North Korea. It consists of one deputy from each of the DPRK's 687 constituencies, elected to five-year ...

. He was replaced by Kim Hyong-jun in his diplomatic responsibilities between late 2019 and 2020, and removed from the Politburo and the State Affairs Commission.

Personal life

Ri was born on 15 June 1940 in

South Hamgyong Province South Hamgyong Province (, ''Hamgyŏngnamdo''; ) is a province of North Korea. The province was formed in 1896 from the southern half of the former Hamgyong Province, remained a province of Korea until 1945, then became a province of North Kore ...

Japanese-occupied Korea Between 1910 and 1945, Korea was ruled as a part of the Empire of Japan. Joseon Korea had come into the Japanese sphere of influence with the Japan–Korea Treaty of 1876; a complex coalition of the Meiji government, military, and business offic ...

. He studied at the , studying at the department of French language. Ri has a reputation of being innovative, open-minded and result-oriented among those he has worked with. Ri had been

Kim Jong-il Kim Jong-il (; ; ; born Yuri Irsenovich Kim;, 16 February 1941 – 17 December 2011) was a North Korean politician who was the second supreme leader of North Korea from 1994 to 2011. He led North Korea from the 1994 death of his father Kim ...

's classmate. During his career, Ri took care of many personal and financial affairs of Kim, including his Swiss bank accounts. Ri also guarded Kim's children:

Kim Jong-un Kim Jong-un (; , ; born 8 January 1982) is a North Korean politician who has been Supreme Leader of North Korea since 2011 and the leader of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) since 2012. He is a son of Kim Jong-il, who was North Korea's sec ...

, the present

leader of North Korea The supreme leader () of North Korea is the ''de facto'' paramount leader of the Workers' Party of Korea, the state and the Korean People's Army. The title has not been written into the national constitution as a separate office, but it currentl ...

, and Kim's sister

Kim Yo-jong Kim Yo-jong (; born 26 September 1987) is a North Korean politician and diplomat serving as the Deputy Department Director of the Publicity and Information Department of the Workers' Party of Korea, or WPK. She also served as an alternate membe ...

when the two were studying at an international school in Switzerland. Ri received the

Order of Kim Jong-il The Order of Kim Jong-il () is a North Korean order named after Kim Jong-il, the former leader of North Korea. It is the highest order of North Korea, along with the Order of Kim Il-Sung, and only second to one honorary title, the Hero of Labo ...

on 14 February 2012.

Notes

References

External links

Biography
at

North Korea Leadership Watch North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

Statement at the 70th session of the United Nations General Assembly (2015)"DPRK Foreign Minister Reiterates Its Commitment to Lasting Peace and Security on Korean Peninsula and Region"
at

Uriminzokkiri ''Uriminzokkiri'' () is a North Korean state-controlled news website, much of whose content is syndicated from other news groups within the country, such as KCNA. Aside from on their own website, Uriminzokkiri also distributes information over ...

* by

Arirang News Arirang International Broadcasting is a South Korean-based broadcasting company operated by the International Broadcasting Exchange Foundation. It began as a cable TV service in South Korea on February 3, 1997, and opened Korea's first overseas ...

2016 interview
by

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ri, Su-yong Living people 1940 births People from South Hamgyong Ambassadors of North Korea to Switzerland Foreign ministers of North Korea Recipients of the Order of Kim Jong-il Vice Chairmen of the Workers' Party of Korea and its predecessors

Career

Personal life

See also

Notes

References

External links