Han Song-ryol explained

Hangul:한성렬[1]
Hanja:韓成烈[2]
Rr:Han Seong-ryeol
Mr:Han Sŏng-ryŏl
Koreanipa:han.sʌŋ.ɾjʌl
Context:north

Han Song-ryol (pronounced as /ko/, 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]

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

In 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,, 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]

Notes and References

  1. News: 한성렬 외무성 부상이 주조 로씨야대사와 만났다 . ko . . . May 25, 2017 .
  2. News: 한성렬(韓成烈) . 14 August 2024 . 조선일보 동북아연구소 . . ko.
  3. Web site: http://nkinfo.unikorea.go.kr/nkp/theme/viewPeople.do?nkpmno=7720. ko:한성렬(남성). ko. Ministry of Unification. 24 July 2019.
  4. News: Sang-Hun . Choe . North Korean Diplomat Defects to the South, Shares News of Political Purge . The New York Times . 16 July 2024.
  5. http://38north.org/2016/10/mmadden101116/ Shifts in North Korea’s Foreign Ministry and Nuclear Communications
  6. Web site: N. Korea names new point man on U.S. affairs. https://web.archive.org/web/20170414162327/http://m.koreatimes.co.kr/phone/news/view.jsp?req_newsidx=173410. dead. April 14, 2017. The Korea Times.
  7. News: Kessler . Glenn . N. Koreans Meet With Richardson . 2 September 2023 . Washington Post . 10 January 2003.
  8. Web site: N. Korea: US Has Crossed Red Line, Relations on War Footing . ABC News . 28 July 2016 . 29 July 2016 . Talmadge, Eric.
  9. Web site: 2019-01-30 . 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. 2019-02-03.