A high-profile North Korean diplomat primarily based in Cuba has defected to South Korea, Seoul’s intelligence company confirmed to the BBC.
The political counselor is believed to be the highest-ranking North Korean diplomat to flee to South Korea since 2016.
The Nationwide Intelligence Service (NIS) stated the diplomat defected in November.
Particulars about North Korean defections usually take months to return to gentle as a result of defectors should take programs about South Korean society earlier than formally integrating into it.
South Korean media reported that the defector was the counselor accountable for political affairs on the North Korean Embassy in Cuba. The Nationwide Intelligence Service has not confirmed the information to the BBC.
Chosun Ilbo stated it was capable of interview the diplomat and confirmed that he was 52-year-old Ri Il Kyu.
The assertion stated the diplomat defected due to “disillusionment with the regime and unfair analysis of his work.”
The defection comes at a time of tense relations between North and South Korea.
North Korean chief Kim Jong Un has formally deserted his objective of reunification with South Korea and lately known as Seoul “enemy No. 1” – a dramatic flip from six years in the past when he formally met with South Korean chief Moon Jae-in.
Since then, rhetoric on either side of the border has continued to escalate.
The 2 international locations surfaced promotional balloons cities alongside their borders, and people from the north Contains garbage and parasites.
Early June, Pyongyang claimed to have been tested Superior nuclear warhead missiles.
