North Korea announced a number of promotions Thursday for foreign ministry officials handling negotiations with the United States, including two key figures in denuclearization talks.

According to the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), First Vice Foreign Minister, Kang Sok-ju, was promoted to vice premier of the Cabinet.

Kim Kye-kwan, a vice foreign minister and the North's chief nuclear negotiator, was promoted to first vice foreign minister to succeed Kang.

Foreign Ministry Councilor Ri Yong-ho, ranked second in the nuclear negotiating team, was promoted to vice foreign minister.

As the former chief nuclear envoy for the communist state, Kang negotiated the 1994 Geneva Agreed Framework between Pyongyang and Washington, which called for a freezing of North Korea's nuclear facilities in exchange for internationally financed light-water reactors.

Kim Kye-kwan assisted Kang during the 1994 negotiations as his deputy in the North Korean delegation. Also, Kim was chief negotiator of Pyongyang’s talks with Washington over North Korea’s missile program and talks for North Korea's removal from America's "State Sponsors of Terrorism" list.

Despite the prominence of the promotions, the KCNA only briefly delivered the facts with no other explanations.