NEW YORK — North Korea's delegation listened to U.S. President Donald Trump's address at the U.N. General Assembly in person but skipped President Lee Jae-myung's speech, drawing attention to the reasons behind the move.
Two North Korean diplomats were seated in the main hall to watch Trump's speech at the General Assembly, held at U.N. headquarters in New York on the 22nd. Kim Song, North Korea's ambassador to the United Nations, was not among them.
The delegation then left its seats empty when Lee delivered his address that afternoon. The North Korean diplomats had also moved from the seats assigned to them by the United Nations to another location farther from the South Korean delegation.
Seats in the General Assembly hall are assigned each year by the United Nations under protocol rules. A public drawing determines which country takes the first seat, and the remaining member states fill in from there in English alphabetical order. North Korea's original seats were in the 10th row from the front of the far-left section as viewed from the podium. On this day, however, the delegation sat in the second row from the back of the far-right section.
The change followed a request from the North Korean delegation to the United Nations to move its seats in the main hall, according to sources. No reason was given, but some have speculated that the aim was to avoid contact with the South Korean delegation. Analysts said North Korea's decision to skip Lee's speech was likewise intended to prevent any encounter between the two Koreas. The South Korean delegation was seated in the third row from the front of the third section on the right, in the center of the hall.
Separately, Vice Foreign Minister Kim Son-gyong of North Korea is scheduled to speak on the 28th during this session of the General Assembly.
