North Korea has appointed a new ambassador to Cuba.
The North Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on its website today, “Han Su Chol has been appointed as the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to the Republic of Cuba.”
The appointment comes about five months after the previous ambassador, Ma Chol Su, bade farewell to Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel in March.
Earlier, in February, South Korea established diplomatic relations with Cuba, which led to speculation that North Korea’s decision to recall Ma might have been a disciplinary measure for failing to prevent the establishment of diplomatic relations between South Korea and Cuba.
The new ambassador seems to be the deputy director of the Workers’ Party International Department. He has previously attended events related to Vietnam and Laos, but little else is known about him.
Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between South Korea and Cuba, North Korea has occasionally expressed its displeasure with Cuba. However, with the appointment of a new ambassador, it seems North Korea intends to maintain diplomatic relations with Cuba for now.
North Korea has maintained a cooperative relationship with Cuba since establishing diplomatic ties with the communist nation in 1960. President Díaz-Canel visited Pyongyang in 2018 and met with the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, highlighting the friendly relations before South Korea-Cuba ties.
Meanwhile, North Korea has recently expanded its face-to-face diplomacy by appointing new ambassadors to various countries. In August, North Korea appointed Ri Sung Guk as the new ambassador to Vietnam and Ri Sang Rim as the ambassador to Romania. At the end of July, Ri Kil Song was appointed as the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Singapore.