Jo Chol Su has been appointed to lead the North Korean foreign ministry’s influential North America Department, Russia’s embassy in Pyongyang said on Wednesday, in a surprise promotion that comes as the DPRK prepares for working-level talks with the U.S. over the weekend.

Reporting on a meeting between Russian ambassador Alexander Matsegora, visiting scholar Anton Khlopkov, and Jo, the embassy said the three had exchanged views on the situation on the peninsula and broader issues of Russia-DPRK cooperation.

The ambassador was reported to have congratulated Jo — who now holds the formal title Director of the North American Department of the DPRK foreign