In June 1994, the former US president arrived for talks in Pyongyang with then leader Kim Il-sung. It was unprecedented, marking the first time a former or sitting US president had visited.

North Koreans laid floral tributes at the statues of founding father Kim Il Sung and his son, Kim Jong Il, to mark the Lunar New Year.

Before defecting to South Korea in 1991, Ko was a diplomat in Pyongyang who served as an interpreter of French for the country’s founder, Kim Il Sung. Ko cited recent news reports from the ...