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North Korea first appointed a woman, Choe Son Hui, as foreign minister. Media reports as Pyongyang continues a series of weapons tests and ignores US calls for talks. Ms. Choe, a former deputy foreign minister, was named head of North Korean diplomacy at a meeting of the ruling party chaired by leader Kim Jong Un. She replaces Ri Son Gwon, a former hard-line military official who led the negotiations with South Korea.
A fluent English-speaking career diplomat, Ms. Choe was a close adviser to Kim Jong Un during nuclear talks with the United States and accompanied the North Korean leader to the top with then-US President Donald Trump.