Top North Korean diplomat defected to South

Updated 3 hours ago

A senior North Korean diplomat stationed in Cuba has defected to the South, Seoul’s spy agency has confirmed to the BBC.

The political adviser is believed to be the highest-ranking North Korean diplomat to flee to South Korea since 2016.

The diplomat defected in November, the National Intelligence Service (NIS) said.

Details of North Korean defections often take months to emerge, as defectors must undergo classes on South Korean society before being officially integrated.

According to South Korean media, the defector was a political affairs counselor at the North Korean embassy in Cuba. The NIS did not confirm this information to the BBC.

The Chosun Ilbo newspaper said it was able to interview the diplomat, identified as Ri Il Kyu, 52.

He added that he defected because of his “disillusionment with the North Korean regime and a bleak future.”

According to some sources, his work was to prevent Havana from establishing official diplomatic relations with Seoul. However, in February, the two governments established official relations, which was seen as a setback for Pyongyang.

“Every North Korean thinks at least once about living in South Korea,” he said, according to the newspaper.

The last known high-profile defection to the South was that of Tae Yong-ho in 2016. He is North Korea’s former deputy ambassador to the United Kingdom.

On Sunday, South Korea celebrated its first-ever North Korean Defectors’ Day ceremony.

At the ceremony, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol promised better financial support for North Korean defectors and tax incentives for companies that hire them.

Mr. Yoon, a conservative, has taken a more aggressive approach to North Korea and foreign policy in general than his predecessor, Moon Jae-In.

He supports sanctions against Kim Jong Un’s regime and has vowed to develop technology to carry out a preemptive strike against North Korea if Pyongyang seeks to attack Seoul.

The latest defection comes at a time of heightened tensions between the two Koreas.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has officially abandoned the goal of reunification with the South and recently called Seoul his “number one enemy” — a dramatic turnaround from just six years ago, when he formally met with then-South Korean leader Moon Jae In.

Since then, the rhetoric has intensified on both sides of the border.