NORTH KOREA: AMBASSADORS CALLED HOME EARLY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP08S02113R000100160001-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 8, 2012
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: December 4, 1979
• Content Type: MISC

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/08/08: CIA-RDP08S02113R000100160001-1
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North Korea: Ambassadors Called Home Early)
The annual return of a large portion of the North
Korean diplomatic cor s to P on an for consultations
is under way. North
Korean ambassadors or chiefs of mission from over 30
countries and the senior representative at UN headquarters
have departed for home. Most of the departures occurred
between 9 and 12 November. The North Korean Ambassadors
to China and the USSR also have apparently returned.
The recall is not total in scope. For example, the
North Korean Ambassador to Romania was present to greet
Vice President Pak Song-chol on his 17 November arrival
in Bucharest for the Romanian party congress. He and
other overseas representatives could return in coming
weeks as the envoys now in Pyongyang are sent back to
The recall this year is taking place earlier than
in the past.
Ithe
mee ings-were eld to review the progress of each embassy
during the revious ear an the activities for the com-
ing year. the meetings were usually
held in January and February.- This was, in fact, the pat-
tern for the last two years.
It is reasonable to speculate that the assassination
of South Korean President Park last month had some impact
on the earlier timing of the diplomatic conference this
year. It offers the North Korean leadership an opportun-
ity to spell out clearly its policy guidelines for the
immediate post-Park era. In this regard, the recall be-
gan in earnest about the time that the North Korean party
newspaper carried its first authoritative statement on
Korean reunification in the wake of the Park assassina-
tion. In an editorial on 9 November, North Korea offered
to "let bygones be bygones" and urged South Korea to re-
sume a political dialogue.
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Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/08/08: CIA-RDP08S02113R000100160001-1
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/08/08: CIA-RDP08S02113R000100160001-1
SECRET
If past experience is any guide, the marching orders
that North Korean diplomats receive will follow closely
the lines of this editorial and other follow-up pronounce-
ments such as a 21 November Nodong Sinmun article that once
again urged the United States to begin talks with North
Korea on replacing the armistice agreement with a peace
agreement. The conclave in Pyongyang may well last
through the end of the year. The North Korean permanent
representative at the United Nations is not expected to
return to New York until January 1980.
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Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/08/08: CIA-RDP08S02113R000100160001-1