North Korean foreign minister in high demand at UN

North Korea's Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho shakes hands with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during their meeting on Wednesday (local time), on the sidelines of the 73rd United Nations General Assembly. Yonhap

By Jung Da-min

While the second summit between North Korea and the U.S. is expected to be held within a few months, the status of Kim Jong-un's top envoy Ri Yong-ho has been elevated to its highest level.

Ri arrived in New York on Tuesday (local time) to attend the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly and was quickly sought after by his counterparts.

Following a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday (local time), Ri met Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono on the same day.

While Ri has met the main parties involved in talks for denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, he has not met South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-hwa.

Pompeo said on Twitter that the talks had been "very positive" and there was discussion on the next steps in North Korea's denuclearization, as well as repatriation of the remains of U.S. soldiers from the Korean War.

Wang again emphasized China's support for the third inter-Korean summit and the Pyongyang Joint Declaration of September 2018.

Kono, however, told NHK that he will not say "a word" about his talks with Ri during their 20-minute meeting.

Meanwhile, Ri is scheduled to address the General Assembly on Saturday (local time).