SEOUL, May 31: One of North Korea’s highest-profile officials, career diplomat Ri Su Yong, will visit China today, Japan’s Kyodo news agency said. Ri was the country’s foreign minister until he was named a member of the politburo during the recent congress of the ruling Workers’ Party. Kyodo said his departure from Pyongyang’s international airport was confirmed. Ri is known as a powerful and close family confidant of the isolated state’s leader Kim Jong Un. If true, the French-speaking Ri, who acted as Kim’s surrogate father when he was at a Swiss school, is touring China when North Korea’s main ally has been growing increasingly frustrated with it over its nuclear ambitions. China disapproves of Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions. South Korea separately said the rival North attempted to fire a missile from its east coast early on today morning, but the launch appears to have failed. (AGENCIES)
Trending Now
E-Paper
Follow our WhatsApp channel