SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea wants to send its chief nuclear envoy to the U.S. presidential inauguration, news reports said.
Pyongyang’s proposal to send Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan to President-elect Barack Obama’s Jan. 20 inauguration was made last month through its mission to the United Nations, the JoongAng Ilbo newspaper reported Monday, citing a South Korean government official.
Washington rejected the idea, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency said.
The U.S. State Department last week informed all foreign embassies in Washington that, in keeping with past practice, their ambassadors and spouses can come to the event to represent their countries. Officials from their capitals, however, must stay home.
The U.S. and North Korea do not have diplomatic relations.
The North’s move, if confirmed, would be another sign the regime is eager to forge good relations with the next U.S. administration.
