Kim Jong Eun’s
special envoy to Russia, Choe Ryong Hae, is said to have belatedly landed in
Moscow on Tuesday local time after his flight departing from Pyongyang
experienced mechanical problems.
The delegation to Russia led by Choe,
secretary of the Chosun Workers’ Party, initially
departed on Monday morning but reportedly returned to the North before
departing again for Russia the same evening.
Originally scheduled to land
at 8p.m. on Monday [KST] at Sheremetyevo International Airport, the special Air Koryo flight transporting the delegation returned soon after take-off from Pyongyang’s Sunan International Airport. South Korean government sources cite mechanical problems as reason for the plane to reverse course.
Specific details on what caused the return are
unknown, but it appears abnormalities were detected from the aircraft, leading
to subsequent precautionary measures. Whether the delegation boarded the same
aircraft after repair, or if the group took a different plane, cannot be
verified.
With the set-back in Choe’s arrival, it is speculated the meeting with Russia’s President
Vladimir Putin will be pushed back. An official from the Kremlin press office
stated, “On the 18th, President Putin will not meet with
the North Korean envoy.”
However, given that the secretary comes as
a special envoy from Kim Jong Eun, it is believed he will meet with the
president and pass on Kim’s personal letter. Some say Choe may try to lay the groundwork for a summit between the
two countries during the meeting.
Choe will tour Moscow, Khabarovsk, and
Vladivostok until next Monday with Kim Kye Gwan, first vice-minister of Foreign
Affairs; Ri Kwang Gun, vice-minister of External Economic Relations; No Kwang
Chol, vice-chief of the General Staff of the Chosun People’s Army [KPA]; and Ri Yong Chol, vice department director of the central
committee of the Chosun Workers’ Party.
Choe is the third high-level official to
visit Russia following Kim Yong Nam, chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme
People’s Assembly, who visited in February, and
Minister of Foreign Affairs Ri Su Yong in October.
