Choe Son Hui shown taking notes from Kim Jong Un, immediately after the breakdown of the Hanoi talks, Feb. 27-28. She appears as the advocate for Kim in the immediate aftermath and the key spokesperson for North Korean foreign affairs in a difficult situation.
Choe is known as a biting critic of US diplomatic moves, in the past describing them as "gangster like," and "one sided." She was a bit more subdued in the immediate aftermath of the Hanoi summit failure and appeared with Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho in a damage control effort on behalf of North Korea. In an unprecedented fashion, she shared her personal views of Kim Jong Un's reaction to the US at Hanoi, saying that he was not familiar with US calculations in negotiations. She also stated that Kim Jong Un appeared to have lost the desire for further negotiations with the US, and would be making a decision in the future.
Choe is the only woman on the powerful State Affairs Committee. According to Thae's report on Top Ten News, she is among an exclusive group of four women in North Korea, by virtue of Kim's trust in her judgment. Looking, at Kim's policy speech before the 14th Supreme People's Assembly, one can't help but wonder if Choe wrote it or at least the latter portion concerning policy toward South Korea and the US. Kim's speech rehashed the differences between the US and North Korea but left open the possibility of another summit, if the US would change it's approach of maximum pressure, an attitude of undisguised hostility and one sided demands. The speech specifically referred to a recent US ICBM intercept exercise in the Pacific, and it's dogged adherence to maintaining sanctions. Kim indicated that he would be receptive to a letter from President Trump.
Kim Jae Ryong, a less familiar figure is an economic technocrat hailing from Jagangdo, a region associated with economic mobilization during the famine and economic crisis of the 90s. Kim Jae Ryong is credited with the mobilization of military resources for ICBM development, particularly the launch site of Hwasong 14 ICBM in 2017. There is a body of state propaganda associated with the "arduous march" ( 고난의 행군 ) brought on by famine and the economic crisis in the nineties, and Kim Jae Ryong's appointment is regarded as symbolically linked to the "frontier spirit" campaign as a model for overcoming that crisis in a "life or death" struggle in Jagangdo. He is associated in particular with production in the military sector. His appointment is considered part of Kim Jong Un's current "overcome by one's own efforts" ( 자력 갱생 ) campaign to overcome the deleterious effects of US and UN sanctions on the North Korean economy. Kim Jae Ryong's newly appointed position on the State Affairs Committee is that of Prime Minister.
Thae feels that Kim Jae Ryong is the person to manage economic affairs in general in North Korea, because he knows where the resources are on in the national economy, including the military sector, and would best know how to mobilize those resources for civilian development objectives impeded by the sanctions environment. Therefore his appointment is seen as an effort to endure sanctions and wait out the US in a "time game." Ostensibly, in this manner North Korea would retain nuclear power status after the Hanoi summit failure rather than submitting to Washington's will, by means of a second "arduous march." Thae Yong Ho, felt that time was on the side of the US rather than North Korea. Also support by China is indispensable to Kim Jong Un. In his view, no third summit is in the cards for the US and North Korea in the immediate future, nor will any fourth summit take place with South Korea. South Korea appears empty handed as a result of US policy rejecting South Korean economic initiatives with the North as potential concessions in nuclear negotiations. Thae expressed his opinion that North Korean could probably endure through the end of the year. Coincidentally, Kim Jong Un, in his Supreme People's Assembly speech, gave the US an end of year window to resolve the stalemated negotiations:
"In any case, we have patience to the end of the year, and we await a daring decision by the US but to again obtain a good opportunity like last time will clearly be a difficult thing."
The Channel A News program with Thae's interview was broadcast on the 12th. The record of Kim's speech was published by KCNA on the 13th.
*Correction, the original of this story incorrectly reported the Polituro meeting as taking place on April 10th. It was the meeting of the Central Committee that took place on the 10th. See: https://www.nknews.org/2019/04/north-koreas-legislature-replaces-key-officials-in-first-meeting-since-election/
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