A senior North Korean official believed to have been exiled to a labor camp after US-Korea nuclear talks fell apart in February was spotted hob-nobbing with dictator Kim Jong Un during an art performance Sunday.
Kim Yong Chol, a former top nuclear envoy to the United States during the failed Hanoi Summit, was yanked from a key party post after negotiations fell through in February, a South Korean lawmaker said in April.
But Chol’s attendance at a performance by the wives of North Korean Army officers on Sunday indicates he may still yield influence in the Hermit Kingdom.
During nuclear talks, Chol reportedly dealt directly with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
When asked on Sunday about the last time there was contact between the US and Chol — or North Korea in general, Pompeo demurred, saying, “We conduct our negotiations in private.”
Others members of the country’s special envoy to the United States reportedly weren’t as fortunate as Chol.
The failed talks led Kim Jong Un to allegedly carry out a deadly purge in March, executing five people, including envoy member Kim Hyok Chol.
With Post wires