US stalls visa extension for N. Korean envoy
By Ko Dong-hwan
Ja Song-nam / Korea Times file
The United States government deliberately delayed extending the visa of the North Korean envoy to the United Nations, possibly out of malice toward the rogue state, according to a Japanese news report.
The U.S. government, which manages visa extension affairs for the U.N. in New York, extended Ja Song-nam’s visa on July 14.
The day before, Ja complained at an unofficial meeting at the U.N. about the U.S. government having delayed extending his visa since he applied for an extension in March. His visa expired in May.
Ja told Japanese news agency Kyodo the U.S. government “didn’t provide a single explanation why the process took so long.” He said he saw the delay as “an act of aggression.”
Ja has been North Korea’s permanent representative to the U.N. since February 2014.
The U.S. government delayed extending Ja’s visa because his country was disregarding the world’s concerns and wielding military might, including nuclear missile tests, the news agency said.
An unidentified diplomat said it was “a message” for the unbridled military state from the U.S., whose citizen, Otto Warmbier, died after being released after being detained 17 months in the communist nation.
In April 2014, the U.S. refused to extend a visa for an Iranian envoy to the U.N. after learning that he had been involved in the Iran hostage crisis in 1979.
Fifty-two American diplomats and citizens were held hostage for 444 days, a world record for the longest hostage crisis, after supporters of the Iranian Revolution took over the U.S. Embassy in Tehran.