North Korea's Choe didn't meet with Brazilian interim president: report

A close aide to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, Choe Ryong-hae, did not meet with Brazil's interim President Michel Temer during his stay in Rio de Janeiro, a U.S.-based media report said Tuesday, in another testimony to North Korea's false report of Choe's activities there.The Voice of America  quoted former Brazilian Ambassador to North Korea Roberto Colin as saying that Choe and Temer never met.

On Aug. 5, Pyongyang's state-run Korean Central News Agency reported Choe met with Temer to deliver Kim's greetings and the Brazilian leader stressed the enhancement of bilateral relations. An official from Brazil's foreign affairs ministry, however, told Yonhap News Agency on Aug. 10 that the meeting with Choe and Temer never took place.

Choe, the vice chairman of North Korea's State Affairs Commission, was in Rio de Janeiro from Aug. 4-10 to take part in the Summer Olympics.

Choe's visit had been seen as a move to carry out sports diplomacy in a bid to break away from international isolation caused by Pyongyang's pursuit of nuclear weapons and long-range missile development. He was widely expected to meet with global leaders in Rio and explain the overall situation facing the country and defend its actions.

However, sources said Choe doesn't seem to have spent much time meeting influential political figures during his stay in Brazil.

The North Korean delegation, led by Choe, returned home on Tuesday, "after taking part in" the Rio Olympics, North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency said in a brief report. (Yonhap)