North Korea's first female foreigner Cui Shanji: "Top experts", which is deeply trusted by Kim Jong -un,

not

Cui Shanji's position on the US policy

"More tough than those who are not engaged in negotiating against the United States for a long time"

When the US and South Korean governments have intensified the rumors of North Korea's "seventh nuclear test", North Korea's top leader Kim Jong -un adjusted the diplomatic team. At the Eighth Plenary Session of the Eighth Central Committee of the Labor Party held in early June, Cui Shanji, the former Central Committee of the North Korean Workers' Party Central Committee and the first director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was elected as a member of the Party Central Committee and a member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee. At the age of 60, she became the first female foreigner in North Korea.

In June 2018, Cui Shanji (middle) arrived in Singapore during the meeting of North Korea and the United States. Figure/People's Vision

Different from the former Li Yong, Li Yonghao, Li Shanquan, etc., it is the focus of Cui Shanji's long -term work for US affairs. From the preliminary contact between the North Korea and the United States in the 1990s, to the six -party talks in 2003, and then to the DPRK -US leadership meeting, high -level talks, work -level talks and "half -official and half -people" dialogue between 2018 and 2019. From the gradual growth of accompanying and translation to the main representative of the DPRK. The media such as Yonhap News Agency and other media associated her possibility of restarting dialogue between the new Foreign Minister and the United States.

Well -known North Korean Affairs expert and researcher at the American Stin Sheng Center Michael Madden told China News Weekly that among the current North Korean diplomats, Cui Shanji is indeed "the one with the most experience in negotiations to the United States and participating in the dialogue." Channels and people of the State Department and think tanks maintain "information unblocked", McDon himself is one of them. Speaking of the evaluation of Cui Shanji, Madden called her "the top expert in this generation."

However, the "top expert" is now facing the "top -level difficulty". Yin Xiyue, the newly appointed Korean President, has decided to adopt a stronger policy to the North Korea than his predecessor, including responding to the northern weapon test with military means. The U.S. President Biden, who is busy dealing with the Ukrainian crisis, is unable to really pay attention to the North Korean issue. Mark Barry, the former director of the New York Asia -Pacific Institute, pointed out to China News Weekly that Biden's response to North Korea "will always increase pressure, not pressure, not to put pressure on, not to put pressure on North Korea, not to put pressure on North Korea, not to put pressure on North Korea Adjust policy. "

Against this background, officials of the Ministry of Unification of South Korea said that the "change of coaches" in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of North Korea may not mean that DPRK -US dialogue is expected. "DPRK's dialogue channel is unblocked. Cui Shanji knows this, but without the authority authorized by the highest leaders, the conversation cannot be expanded. We can only hope that the United States can promote the" big transaction "that involves the ease of sanctions on the DPRK. ; The new Korean government should also create a dialogue atmosphere instead of upgrading the security crisis. "Quan Zhizhi, the chairman of the Hanzhong Friendship City Association and the former director of the Qingwai State Political Operation Office, told China News Weekly.

"Strong to strong, good to good"

On February 28, 2019, in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, the North Korea -US leadership summit suddenly announced the breakdown. The New York Times quoted the memories of American officials who participated in the meeting that at this historic moment, Cui Shanji was the last senior North Korean official who had a conversation with the United States on the negotiating table. She proposed the bottom line of North Korea to the United States: willing to completely remove Ningbian nuclear facilities in exchange for some sanctions. But then US President Trump immediately demanded that North Korea destroyed another "uninterrupted nuclear facilities" at the same time. That night, Cui Shanji first revealed the breakdown of the negotiations.

Among the North Korean representatives present at the time, Cui Shanji's position was the lowest and the lightest. Madden pointed out that the other two diplomatic executives accompanied Kim Jong -un attended the meeting. The immediately as the deputy chairman of the Labor Party Central Committee Li Yizheng and Foreign Affairs Li Yonghao, both of which were representative of North Korea's "first generation" professional diplomats. Cui Shanji was " The second generation.

In the 1970s, North Korea established diplomatic relations with 63 countries, and the "first generation" diplomat appeared on the international stage. At the same time, North Korea began to systematically cultivate a new generation of professional diplomats. Cui Shanji, born in 1964, was the first participant. When she was young, she went to study in Europe, studying English and history in Malta, and studying diplomatic courses in Vienna, Austria. These two countries established diplomatic relations with 1971 and 1974 and North Korea.

In the 1980s, Cui Shanji returned to China to enter the North American Bureau and the American Institute of Foreign Affairs and participated in the DPRK -US dialogue. When the Six Party talks started in 2003, she was translated by the head of the North Korean delegation. Mark Barry, who had participated in the six -party talks, recalled that Cui Shanji initially left the impression that "English is very good." Later, she served as a translation when she visited North Korea in former US President Clinton and Carter. But more importantly, Korean and American diplomats have found that this Korean translation with exquisite image and occasional hair dyeing perm is "better than many other Koreans to interpret American opponents than many other Koreans."

Unlike the "first -generation" diplomats who can only understand the United States through books and a small amount of film and television dramas before they contact Americans. Cui Shanji's European study experience is "immersive" and "like an ordinary international student". Madden said that Cui Shanji not only reads classic American classic books, but also "read many books in other countries in English in English, such as" Pride and Prejudice ". She also pays attention to and understands American popular culture, and pays attention to collecting different aspects of American social information.

After being promoted to the director of the North American Bureau in 2016, Cui Shanji frequently appeared in the DPRK -US "half -official and half -people" dialogue in Oslo, Stockholm and other places, and received further experience. In the past 20 years, Green Ford, a former member of the European Parliament, who has continued to participate in such a dialogue of the two -rail -oriented dialogue of the DPRK in the past 20 years, recalled the issue of these dialogue "no restrictions." In March 2018, when Kim Jong -un and then US President Trump met with mutual information and reached consensus consensus, Cui Shanji was promoted to deputy prime ministers of the province of Foreign Affairs. At first, she was responsible for the working -level dialogue in the DPRK's many dialogues. By the second year, she was promoted to the first deputy of the province of Foreign Affairs, becoming the chief representative of the DPRK's high -level dialogue, and led the negotiation work on the eve of the last "Golden Society" in June 2019.

Some American people have therefore accused the "second -generation" diplomats represented by Cui Shanji than the previous generation and lack flexibility. The U.S. State Council ’s North Korean policy and deputy Secretary of State, which have negotiated with Cui Shanji many times before and after the Hanoi Summit, later announced that North Korea’ s colleagues “will only repeat the official position”. In July 2020, after Cui Shanji criticized the United States as a "tool for dealing with the political crisis", Big Ga publicly stated that Cui Shanji "stuck in the old thinking mode" and "always focus on negative and impossible things, and but It is not creatively thinking about what is feasible. "

In Madden's view, this view actually reflects the "misunderstanding" of the United States' policy community, that is, "the North Koreans who are familiar with the United States will be more beautiful." In fact, Cui Shanji's policy of US policy is "stronger than those who have not been engaged in negotiating against the United States for a long time." The New York Times also pointed out that Kim Jong -un chose Cui Shanji instead of being regarded by the United States as "open and flexible", Jin Guiguan hosted a dialogue between the United States and the United States, and it released a tough signal in itself.

Barry pointed out that in the two -track dialogue, Cui Shanji did not lack flexibility when facing sensitive problems. The hardening of North Korean diplomatic dialogue was actually due to the US diplomats during the Trump administration. " , Not diplomats, rely on coercion, pressure, not real diplomacy. " Therefore, even if the North Korea and the United States and the United States communicated with Cui Shanji before the Hanoi Summit, the United States would not have a more flexible response, because "the goal of President Trump at that time was a big step to directly achieve comprehensive nuclearization."

In fact, in the subsequent contact in 2019, Cui Shanji reminded the United States many times that if he always "old bombs" like the Hanoi summit, "the conversation between the North and the United States will come to an end. After the eight North Korean Workers' Party in 2020, the position of this diplomatic dialogue was further summarized by official documents as "strong and strong, good and good."

Although the Hanoi Summit broke down, Cui Shanji's career was not affected. In April 2019, Kim Jong -un visited Russia, and the four members of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Labor Party accompanied. Kim Jong -un's car shot by the Russian media showed that Cui Shanji, who had not yet entered the Politburo, was sitting next to Kim Jong -un. In the same month, Cui Shanji was elected as a member of the Central Committee of the Labor Party for the first time and entered the State Committee of the Government's highest decision -making organs.

"Cui Shanji has the conditions to communicate with the highest leader, and it is indeed top diplomatic talents, so it stands out." Madden said that Cui Shanji's adoptive father was Cui Yonglin, the former cabinet of the former cabinet. Due to his father's relationship, Cui Shanji knew Kim Jong -un very early. After the death of Jin Zhengri in 2011, Cui Shanji also served as Kim Jong -un's translation in foreign affairs activities.

"Some people think that Kim Jong -un will move to Cui Shanji because of the rupture of the previous dialogue between the DPRK. It emphasizes that "on the one hand, this does not accurately recognize Kim Jong -un's trust in Cui Shanji; on the other hand, from the perspective of the DPRK, the fundamental reason for the breakdown of negotiations is that the United States has made unrealistic requirements."

"Li Chunji on the Diplomacy Front"

In September 2021, in the reorganization of the State Council at the Fifth Session of the Fourteenth National Supreme People's Conference of North Korea, Cui Shanji and a group of senior cadres stepped down as members. Essence Since then, the dispenser has been applied for new positions.

In North Korea's foreign leadership system, foreign affairs generally do not live in the highest position. Prior to 2020, the deputy chairman of the Central Committee of the Labor Party was regarded as the "leader" and "first generation" senior diplomat Li Yan, the "first -generation" and "first generation" senior diplomat. After the eight deputy chairman system was canceled and changed to the secretary system in 2020, Li Yan retired from the second line due to his age.

"The highest -level officials of foreign affairs should be Jin and Zheng." McDonether described that under Jin and Zheng, there are currently no members of the Politburo in charge of the area, Jin Yingzhe, the former Minister of the Eighty -year -old Tongyi, and Li Yizheng. , All are important consultants.

At the level of implementation, Cui Shanji is responsible for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Jin Chengnan, who can speak fluent Chinese, presides over the Central International Department of the Labor Party and is responsible for "friendly state affairs". Because the DPRK dialogue must involve South Korean issues, Li Shanquan, the unity of the unity of Korean work, also needs to participate in foreign affairs decisions. In 2020, he was transferred from the chairman of the Motherland Peaceful Reunification Committee to the foreign affairs phase, and in June 2022, he returned to the unity minister. After the Fifth Plenary Session of the Eighth Central Committee of the Workers, Cui Shanji, Jin Chengnan, and Li Shanquan were all alternate members of the Politburo.

Green Ford pointed out that during the period of Cui Shanji as the deputy phase and the first deputy, North Korean foreign affairs had an important "etiquette function", but this also means that Cui Shanji is often "the person who really formulates policies." One example is that when he served as deputy position, Cui Shanji's status in the State Council and the Central Committee of the Labor Party was higher than that of foreign affairs. "Diplomat" magazine also pointed out in a commentary article that Cui Shanji can report to Kim Jong -un's work by bypassing the foreign affairs. However, Cui Shanji's promotion of foreign affairs means that the existing pattern may change. According to Madden, on the one hand, Cui Shanji's duties have been not only not only in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but also participated in the "strategic communication" affairs. In the 1990s, she used her fluent English skills to participate in the drafting diplomatic bulletin, and since then she has participated in the reform of North Korea's external communication.

One detail is that in the past, the official statements and speeches issued by North Korea often did not mention the names of the specific officials. But since 2017 to 2018, it often clearly "named the name". “主持这些改革的是金与正，但崔善姬也发挥了作用。通过这个小小的改动，朝鲜让自己显得更透明，也更容易释放不同目的的信号。”麦登说，“因而，当我们When analyzing Cui Shanji, don't just regard her as a diplomat, but also Li Chunji (North Korean Gongxun Broadcast) on the diplomatic front. "

On the other hand, Cui Shanji did not "spare" after the dialogue between the DPRK and the United States in 2019, but further expanded the scope of work. On the 11th of that year, she led a high -level visit to the "Friendly Country" Russia for the first time on the 11th of that year. When meeting a reporter in Moscow, Cui Shanji pointed out that the focus of her trip was not to discuss the issue of the North Korea and the United States with Russia. The official bulletin also disclosed that the two sides mainly discussed that "the comprehensive development of the two countries has ushered in a new and full period of North Korea and Russia under the care of the highest leaders of the two countries."

In October 2019, Kim Jong -un inspected the tourist attraction of the North Korean -Korean cooperation, and ordered the dismantling of the Korean facilities. Cui Shanji also attended the event with Kim and Zheng. She is also the only ministerial official in the official high -level officials of North Korea's official name.

Quan Zhizhi pointed out that North Korea pays great attention to etiquette and equality, and also attaches great importance to the distinction between unified affairs and diplomacy. Generally, diplomats will not openly participate in Korean affairs. This shows the expansion of Cui Shanji. The role played in the North Korean diplomatic leadership in the future is closer to the previous foreign affairs "first leader" Li Yan. Li Yan, who has rich experience in abroad, has a very wide range of duties. It is not only responsible for nuclear diplomacy and American affairs, but also involves European, African, Asian issues and foreign trade work.

"Dialogue with evil" dialogue environment

In June 2022, at the Eighth Plenary Session of the Eighth Plenary Central Committee of the Labor Party of Cui Shanji, Kim Jong -un, the top leader of North Korea, delivered an important speech.金正恩“针对剧变的国际政局和一直濒于紧张局面的朝鲜半岛”，叙述了朝鲜近期采取的措施和“顽强斗争”，指出周边局势还有“极端加剧的风险”，并重申“以强对强、 The principle of winning and winning or losing. For the most concerned nuclear test and the North Korean leaders' meeting, only the words are not mentioned.

In January 2020, the eight major routes of the Eighth National Labor Party's development of North Korea's development from 2018 were re -adjusted to "economic construction and national defense construction" proposed in 2018. The prerequisite for the negotiation of "the United States to cancel the hostile policy first" is set up. This is the DPRK -US dialogue completely stagnated. For the first time, Kim Jong -un has systematically explained the policy of the United States, and has not been adjusted significantly since then.

Deltomas, assistant Secretary of State in charge of nuclear affairs in the U.S. State Department, pointed out "China News Weekly" that as the United States and South Korea held the presidential election in 2020 and 2022, North Korea's choice was "waiting". At the same time, North Korea, while conducting military industry, layout for the dialogue and make "two -handed preparation". In September 2021, the recent systematic explanation of diplomatic strategies in September 2021 is to "take strategic measures".

Green Ford pointed out that this is related to the changes in the external environment of "evil to evil". After the DPRK -US dialogue fell into an impasse, the South Korean and American joint military exercises began in July 2019. South Korea ’s defense expenditure also increased at a high speed. By 2020, it exceeded 5 trillion won (about RMB 260 billion) mark, compared with 2017 Time increased over 25 %. Although North Korea ’s military expenditure has long reached a quarter of the total national product value," Pyongyang is compared with the total military expenditure expenditure of Washington, Tokyo and Seoul. If this is calculated, North Korea ’s total investment in weapons research and development is not yet on. The total of the United States, Japan, and South Korea is 2 %. "Therefore, North Korea will regard development strategic weapons as the only feasible answer under the policy of" evil against evil ".

In his speech in June 2022, Kim Jong -un praised the construction of military workers' "historic progress". Since January of this year, he has given a high degree of evaluation of the "successive results achieved by the military", which involves the core strategic projects of the eight major military industry in the eight major military industry, such as the hypersonic missile, the "Mars Artillery-17" intercontinental ballistic missile, and the new guidance weapon. Barry has speculated that the goal of this round of weapon tests in North Korea has been approached, and "the test plan that may be suspended and is still underway to be ready to contact the United States."

Some experts believe that if the dialogue is restored, channels are not a problem. After the Hanoi Summit ended in February 2019, the outside world once believed that the DPRK -US dialogue channel might be cut off. However, when Trump said on social media on June 29, he was looking forward to "ask" with Kim Jong -un on the border between the North Korea and South Korea, and Cui Shanji made an urgent consultation with the special representative of the US State Council's North Korean policy that night, and finalized the process details. In March 2021, Cui Shanji also mentioned when he delivered an unintentional contact with the United States. He also mentioned that after Bayeng came to power, he had contacted the "New York channel" and "Third Kingdom" with the North Korean delegation after taking office. Madden revealed that at least Cui Shanji "had a way" conveyed information to more than a dozen US key people, including the current US State Council's current North Korean policy special representative Kim Sung and his deputy, and executive deputy Secretary of State Schonman. "She knows this information will be seriously treated by the United States."

In addition, North Korea has strengthened diversified diplomacy. Nan Chengxu pointed out that Cui Shanji and Kim Jong -un were living in Europe when they were young, so "can understand the external world from a global perspective." Green Ford revealed to "China News Weekly" that North Korea has recently proactively sent information on Europe's enhanced dialogue and "hopes to restart a larger political dialogue, which is a new signal that has never been before since 2016." In 2020, the North Korean Ambassador to Austria for the first time in 27 years. The new ambassador is one of Cui Shanji's most important assistant and accompanied her to participate in the former deputy director of the US Bureau of the US Bureau of the US Bureau of the United States Bureau who participated in the 2018 to 2019.

In this context, Cui Shanji's new foreign affairs was regarded as the latest measures for North Korea to lay a dialogue layout, and to create positive conditions for the higher -level meeting of North Korea and the United States in the diplomatic "peer".

In 2019, the US State Council ’s North Korean policy special representative Big Ga once stated that after being promoted to deputy Secretary of State, he could bypass the North Korean State Council’ s special representative of the United States, Kim Hezhe, and Kimming Ji, a foreign affairs province. Trusted Cui Shanji "dialogue. Today, the US President Biden proposed that the DPRK -US dialogue should start from the working level. However, if the North Korean party sent foreign affairs Cui Shanji as the representative, the United States must send State Secretary of State Brills, and the two sides can "one step in place" to achieve high -level dialogue.

From June 12th to 15th, Park Zhen, a new foreign minister of South Korea, visited the United States and met with US Secretary of State Brills. South Korean government sources said that the two parties "comprehensive and in -depth" discuss "feasible means such as deterrence, sanctions and pressure, etc., and concluded:" In the case of North Korea's continued provocation and refusing dialogue, it should continue to increase pressure on North Korea. "Quan Zhi pointed out that Yin Xiyue's government coordinated Washington to seek new" balance "from military activities and weapons deployment, which may lead to further deterioration of the situation.

Send 2022.7.4 Total Issue 1050 "China News Weekly" magazine

Magazine title: North Korea's first female foreign prime minister Cui Shanji: "top experts" trusted in Kim Jong -un

Reporter: [email protected])

Edit: Xu Fangqing

- END -