North Korea plans to replace its top diplomat in Switzerland, who is believed to be a key manager of leader Kim Jong-il’s alleged secret funds stashed overseas, a news report said yesterday.
Ri Tcheul, the ambassador to UN agencies in Geneva, is to step down as early as late this month following about 30 years of service in Switzerland, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported, citing an unidentified diplomat in Bern.
The 75-year-old Ri is one of Kim’s closest associates, believed to have managed the leader’s illicit money in secret bank accounts in Switzerland, the report said. There was no word on who will succeed him, Yonhap said.
The Foreign Ministry and the National Intelligence Service in Seoul said they could not confirm the report.
Kim is believed to have stashed away billions of dollars in Switzerland, Hong Kong, Singapore and other countries to finance the North’s weapons programs, buy lavish gifts for his top deputies to obtain their loyalty and maintain his luxurious lifestyle, South Korean media reports and experts said.
Yonhap said it is not clear why the North has decided to replace Ri, but overexposure may have made it difficult for him to maneuver, said Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.
“Ri Tcheul has been exposed too much” as the manager of the secret funds, Yang said.
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