Dec. 9 (UPI) — Speculation is rising in South Korea that the Kim Jong Un regime may have asked a senior United Nations official to ease sanctions against the country, as Jeffrey Feltman concluded his four-day visit to Pyongyang.
Feltman, a former U.S. State Department official, reportedly met with North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho and vice foreign minister Park Myong Guk, but was unable to secure a meeting with the North Korean leader, News 1 reported Friday.
Feltman’s visit to the North was made known in Pyongyang’s state media on Friday, South Korean television network SBS reported.
KCNA stated Feltman visited a children’s food plant and listened to explanations regarding the “commendable transformation of the factory into a modern food and beverage production base.”
State media also said Feltman visited a Pyongyang maternity hospital and a “disease prevention” facility, but left out mention of details around his meeting with foreign ministry officials.
Analysts in South Korea say the visit is a significant gesture for North Korea.
“From North Korea’s perspective, a country that has declared the completion of its nuclear weapons power, the dialogue was a great opportunity for their position to be presented to the international community,” said Kim Yong-hyun, a professor of North Korean studies at Dongguk University in Seoul.
Kim Hyun-uk of the Korea National Diplomatic Academy said the dialogue will not make a significantly positive impact on the peninsula, given North Korea’s standing position on nuclear weapons.
Pyongyang is seeking U.S. recognition as a nuclear weapons state.
There is also a possibility North Korea invited Feltman to request an easing of sanctions, following statements from a North Korean delegation to the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, or UNIDO, on Nov. 28, condemning the embargoes.
