KOR
▲ A North Korean delegation led by Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Kim Son-gyong arrives at JFK Airport in New York on Sept. 23 (local time) to attend the 80th session of the UN General Assembly.
North Korean Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Kim Son-gyong arrived in New York on September 23 (local time) to attend the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly.
The North Korean delegation, including Vice Minister Kim, arrived at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York at around 10 p.m. (U.S. Eastern Time) on an Air China flight departing from Beijing.
Emerging from the airport terminal about 50 minutes later, Vice Minister Kim did not respond to questions from reporters, including whether she planned to contact the U.S. side during her visit.
Kim Song, North Korea's ambassador to the United Nations, who was waiting at the airport to greet Vice Minister Kim, also kept silent and did not answer questions.
Vice Minister Kim and the delegation departed the airport in a vehicle from the North Korean mission to the UN that was waiting outside.
Vice Minister Kim, a vice-ministerial official in charge of international organizations, is scheduled to take the podium at the UN headquarters to deliver a speech on September 28, the final day of the general debate for the UN General Assembly high-level segment.
She is expected to reiterate the justification for North Korea's possession of nuclear weapons and present its foreign policy direction.
Attending last year's UN General Assembly, she stated, "We will never give up our nuclear weapons and will under no circumstances retract this stance," cementing North Korea's refusal to denuclearize.
In particular, as this year's UN General Assembly is being held immediately after U.S. President Donald Trump repeatedly made public overtures expressing his desire to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, attention is focused on whether North Korea will deliver a message regarding dialogue through Vice Minister Kim.
Having departed Pyongyang on September 22 and arriving in New York with a comfortable schedule five days ahead of her UN address, whether any contact will be made with the U.S. side is also drawing interest.
During her visit, Vice Minister Kim is expected to hold talks with UN Secretary-General António Guterres and meet with figures from North Korea's "friendly nations" such as Cuba and Venezuela.
It has also been reported that she is scheduled to hold talks with Singaporean officials.
Following the breakdown of the 2019 Hanoi North Korea-U.S. summit, North Korea did not dispatch a high-level delegation to the UN General Assembly for six years until 2024.
During that period, Ambassador Kim Song delivered the UN General Assembly keynote speeches, but with Vice Minister Kim's attendance last year, North Korea resumed sending high-level delegations for the first time in seven years.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.
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