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| Kim Yong-chol, in the white circle, watches an arts performance with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, fourth from left, in this photo released on Monday by the North's Korean Central News Agency. The photo came amid rumors of him being purged after collapsed nuclear talks in Hanoi. Yonhap |
By Park Ji-won
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un watched an art troupe's performance, along with his top aides, including Kim Yong-chol, who was rumored to have been purged after the no-deal summit in Hanoi, Pyongyang's media reported Monday.
The leader attended the show "given by amateur art groups of the wives of officers of units of the Korean People's Army (KPA) selected in the seventh round of the second-term contest of art groups of KPA officers' wives," the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.
He appeared with his wife Ri Sol-ju and other top officials, including Kim Yong-chol, the North's counterpart to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in denuclearization negotiations with the U.S., the KCNA revealed.
Rumors have circulated that Kim Yong-chol might have been punished in the leader's move to purge officials responsible for the no-deal summit with President Trump after the Chosun Ilbo, a major conservative newspaper, reported that Kim Yong-chol was punished with hard labor and another negotiator Kim Hyok-chol, a former North Korean envoy to the U.S. was executed citing anonymous sources last week.
The Hanoi summit failed after Trump and Kim could not agree over the details between North Korea's denuclearization steps with Washington's sanctions relief.
Cheong Seong-Chang, an analyst at the Sejong Institute, said the daily's report is groundless. "Unless Kim has given up negotiation with the U.S., it is unlikely that he would issue extreme punishment [against the senior officials]."
