Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Ri Tcheul (also spelled Chol) 75-year-old North Korean diplomat who has been ambassador to the United Nations and international organizations since 1987 and ambassador to Switzerland as well since 1998, is rumoured to be leaving Geneva soon. The North Korean mission has not confirmed or denied the information. AP news agency reports that the South Korean government cannot confirm the information.

Media reports from South Korea say that Ri, who is widely believed to have managed funds for longtime leader Kim Jong-il, is leaving for unknown reasons, but given his long tenure in Geneva they are probably  not political. He arrived in Geneva in 1980 as foreign minister for the North Korean mission.

The report appears to have originated with North Korean news agency Yonhap, which cites a diplomatic source in Bern.

Tcheul is said by South Korean media to have been the person who convinced Kim Jong-il to send some of his children to the International School of Bern, including his youngest son, Jong-un, who may be in line to replace his father.

The retiring  diplomat is widely rumoured to have placed North Korean money in Swiss banks, which North Korea has denied, according to Korea Times. AP cites a professor of North Korean studies as suggesting that “‘Overexposure may have made it difficult for him to maneuver,’ according to Seoul-based analyst Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul. ‘Ri Tcheul has been exposed too much’ as the manager of the secret funds, Yang said.”

The Korean Times speculates that Ri may be leaving because a younger generation of diplomats is needed. “Cheong Seong-chang, senior research fellow at the Sejong Institute in Seoul, said the majority of Jong-un’s aides are in their 60s. He did not rule out the possibility that Ri’s replacement might be one of them.

“As a mission station, Switzerland is a unique location for North Korean diplomats. ‘Switzerland is a neutral nation. This is important for the North because the European country is believed to be free of influence from the United States,’ Cheong said.  ‘The other reason that makes the diplomatic mission in Switzerland is special is that many dictators deposit money into Swiss bank accounts.’”

Ed. note: Switzerland has in the past 20 years developed one of the most active programmes in Europe to fight the problem of potentate funds, and in June 2009 it ratified the UN Convention Against Corruption. The problem remains of identifying true owners of bank accounts that are hidden behind complex fraud schemes developed for dictators.

Links to other sites: AP, Korea Times, North Korea Leadership Watch, Yonhap News Agency,

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