The Most Famous
DIPLOMATS from North Korea
This page contains a list of the greatest North Korean Diplomats. The pantheon dataset contains 90 Diplomats, 1 of which were born in North Korea. This makes North Korea the birth place of the 28th most number of Diplomats behind Thailand, and Senegal.
Top 1
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary North Korean Diplomats of all time. This list of famous North Korean Diplomats is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity.
1. Ri Yong-ho (1956 - 2022)
With an HPI of 57.49, Ri Yong-ho is the most famous North Korean Diplomat. His biography has been translated into 18 different languages on wikipedia.
Ri Yong-ho (Korean: 리용호; Korean pronunciation: [ɾi.joŋ.ɦo]; born 10 July 1956) is a North Korean politician and diplomat who served as the minister of foreign affairs of North Korea from 2016 to 2020. Ri's current status is unclear. The Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun in 2022 reported that he had been executed, citing unnamed sources. South Korea's National Intelligence Service confirmed that Ri was purged but was not able to verify his reported execution. In July 2024, Ri Il-kyu, a former North Korean diplomat and defector, told The Chosun Ilbo that he had been sent to a penal colony, not executed. Ri was known as a skillful negotiator with experience in negotiating with the United States on the North Korean nuclear program. In particular, he had headed North Korea's negotiators at the six-party talks. His diplomatic career spanned more than 30 years, including posts in various embassies. Ri was the ambassador to the United Kingdom between 2003 and 2007. Ri was a full member of the 7th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea and its Politburo, and was a deputy to the 14th Supreme People's Assembly.
People
Pantheon has 1 people classified as North Korean diplomats born between 1956 and 1956. Of these 1, none of them are still alive today. The most famous deceased North Korean diplomats include Ri Yong-ho. As of April 2024, 1 new North Korean diplomats have been added to Pantheon including Ri Yong-ho.
