[3][4] South Korea's National Intelligence Service confirmed that Ri was purged but was not able to verify his reported execution.

[5] 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 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.

[10] Ri had extensive experience in negotiating with the U.S. on the issue of the North Korean nuclear program.

[9] In 2011, Ri met with South Korean negotiators in Bali to broker a deal on continuing nuclear disarmament talks.

Ri negotiated with his South Korean, Chinese, and Russian counterparts, making the meeting only two parties – the United States and Japan – short of the makeup of the six-party talks.

[22] On 23 September 2017, Ri attended the UN General Assembly and gave a speech in which he remarked that Donald Trump is "chastised even by the American people as 'Commander in Grief', 'Lying King', [and] 'President Evil'.

According to Michael Madden of Johns Hopkins University, "Ri can now be safely identified as one of North Korea's top policy makers ...

Even if he has informal or off the record meetings, Ri's interlocutors can be assured that whatever proposals they proffer will be taken directly to the top".