North Korean diplomat fled to South Korea

Last Updated on July 17, 2024 8:15 am

A senior North Korean diplomat stationed in Cuba has defected to South Korea. The South Korean intelligence agency confirmed this information to the BBC.

The diplomat, who serves as a special political adviser, is believed to be the most senior North Korean diplomat to defect to South Korea since 2016.

Seoul’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) said the diplomat escaped in November. It usually takes months for detailed information about North Korean defectors to emerge. Because they have to attend a course about South Korean society before they can officially integrate.

South Korea’s Chosun Ilbo newspaper identified the diplomat as Ri Il Kyu (52).

According to South Korean media reports, Qi worked as a political counselor at the North Korean embassy in Cuba. Disillusioned with the North Korean regime and an uncertain future, he fled to South Korea.

Ri Il Qiu’s responsibilities in Cuba included preventing Havana from establishing formal diplomatic relations with Seoul. But in February, the two countries’ governments formalized ties, seen as a major blow to North Korea.

The Chosun Ilbo newspaper quoted Ri as saying, “Every North Korean thinks about living in South Korea at least once.”

Last in 2016, North Korea’s then deputy ambassador to the UK, Tae Yongho, fled and took refuge in South Korea. He was the former Deputy Ambassador of North Korea to the UK.