Head of abolished NK party organ on inter-Korean affairs appears to retain political status

Director of North Korea’s abolished United Entrance Division Ri Son-gwon / Supplied by the Korean Central Tv

Ri Son-gwon, director of North Korea’s abolished United Entrance Division (UFD) answerable for affairs with South Korea, seems to have retained his political standing even after the division’s purported dissolution, in line with state media on Friday.

The Korean Central Information Company reported that Ri attended a banquet held the day gone by for a visiting artwork troupe of Korean schoolchildren from Japan and gave a speech, referring to his official title as division director of the ruling Employees‘ Occasion of Korea (WPK)’s Central Committee.

The report confirms Ri’s retention of directorial standing, refuting hypothesis that he could have been demoted after the UFD was reportedly abolished as a part of North Korea’s coverage shift on the South.

The most recent report signifies that he could also be heading one of many specialised departments below the WPK, aside from the abolished group.

North Korea is presumed to have disbanded all of its roughly 10 official organizations accountable for addressing inter-Korean points, following chief Kim Jong-un’s 2023 order to codify South Korea as its main foe.

As a part of the organizational revamp, the UFD was reported to have been downgraded in standing and renamed „Bureau 10“ of the occasion’s Central Committee.

Kim In-ae, deputy spokesperson of South Korea’s unification ministry, stated in a briefing that regardless of the renaming, the entity retains its division standing inside the occasion, with its head, Ri, additionally sustaining his directorial place.

Ri has had a outstanding position in North Korea’s officialdom, having served as a member of the occasion’s highly effective politburo and as overseas minister from 2020-2022. (Yonhap)