OTTAWA - A senior North Korean official recently visited Ottawa and the federal government deliberately chose to snub him, The Canadian Press has learned.
The disclosure of what was a rare public talk from a top North Korean bureaucrat comes as Canada suspended Tuesday its already modest diplomatic relations with the reclusive regime that has been blamed for the sinking of a South Korean warship.
A team of international investigators, including three Canadian Navy experts, concluded last week that a torpedo from a North Korean submarine tore apart the Cheonan warship on March 26, killing 46 sailors.
But even before the team made the announcement, the federal government chose to purposely ignore a delegation of North Korean officials that visited an Ottawa university earlier in the month.
Carleton University's Centre for Treaty Compliance hosted a delegation that included Ho Yong Bok, the director general of North Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, responsible for relations with Canada, Latin America and Africa.
But beyond an account in a student newspaper, the May 10 visit occurred with hardly a ripple of publicity.
Catherine Loubier, the spokeswoman for Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon, said the federal government had nothing to do with the visit and made a conscious effort to ignore it. The government refused to meet the North Koreans or allow government officials to attend the event.
"We didn't meet with him on purpose, to protest," said Loubier, adding that the list of reasons included the country's human rights record and its violation of international obligations.
At the time, North Korea was suspected of being behind the sinking of the South Korean submarine.
That did not escape the notice of those who gathered in Carleton University's Robertson Hall for 90 minutes to hear from Ho and two of his subordinates.
"If the South tries to connect that issue with us there will be severe consequences," Ho said, according to a May 17 article in Carleton's student weekly, The Charlatan.
Ho's answer fell directly in line with his government's response after it was blamed for the sinking.
Ho spoke through an interpreter to what was described as a "roundtable" discussion.
Carleton organizers never intended Ho's remarks to be widely disseminated to the general public.
"The Roundtable is a unique opportunity for direct interaction with senior policy makers from this reclusive nuclear power," says a notice of the event that billed it both as "open" but to be conducted under "Chatham House Rule."
The internationally-recognized "Rule" means that the identity and the affiliation of any speaker at an event cannot be reported. Technically, the rule would have meant Ho could neither be identified by name nor his job in North Korea's foreign ministry.
But it appears the student newspaper chose to break the rule, and reported on Ho's remarks.
"We do have some shortcomings," Ho said, when asked about his country's dubious human rights record.
But he refused to speculate on who would succeed his country's leader, Kim Jong-Il. "That kind of issue is not discussed."
Ho also disputed the reclusive characterization of his country. "Reports by the outside media are 99 per cent false," he told the group. "We love Canada. We respect Canada. Let's establish bilateral relations hand in hand."
Canadian officials periodically made "advocacy" visits to North Korea to talk about its nuclear program and human rights violations, but those will now be suspended, said Loubier.
The last Canadian diplomatic visit to North Korea occurred in March 2010, she said.
On Monday, Ottawa announced new sanctions on North Korea, including restrictions on trade, investment and other bilateral relations.
