Thae Yong Ho, the deputy ambassador of the North Korean embassy in the United Kingdom, is under government protection, Jeong Joo-hee, a spokesman for the South Korean Unification Ministry, told reporters Wednesday.
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A senior North Korean diplomat, along with his wife and children, has defected and reached safety in South Korea, making it the highest-level diplomatic defection from the Pyongyang regime in history.
“They are now under government protection and relevant institutions are going ahead with necessary procedures as usual”, he said.
Jeong declined to give details on the timing of Thae’s arrival or his itinerary.
While more than 1,000 North Koreans arrive in the South every year and a total of more than 29,000 are registered here, defections by overseas diplomats and government officials are rare.
In April, a group of 13 North Koreans who worked at a Pyongyang-run restaurant in the Chinese eastern port city of Ningbo defected to South Korea en masse.
The BBC quoted South Korea spokesman Jeong Joon-hee as saying Thae explained his defection by expressing “disgust with Kim Jong-Un’s regime, admiration for South Korea’s free, democratic system and the future of his family”.
More than 29,000 North Koreans have defected to South Korea since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, according to South Korean government records.
“This is the highest profile diplomat among those who fled from the North”, the spokesperson added.
In Thae’s case, the interrogation will be a lengthy one and he and his family will likely remain in sort of protective custody for some time to guarantee their safety. Officials in the country have not yet commented on reports of Thae’s defection. Its revelation of Thae’s defection came as ties between the rivals are at one of their lowest points in decades over the North’s nuclear ambitions.
“I conclude that the defection of Minister Thae is indicative of the absence of hope among the North’s core circle”, Jeong said. Earlier this year, a North Korean party official was reported by media to have defected from a job in Russian Federation with his family.
Thae’s departure could also be linked to tougher sanctions against North Korea following this year’s nuclear and long-range missile tests.
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“That is the reason why the mass media creates all those shocking, terrifying stories about my country”.
