Thae likely had personal reasons for leaving, too Some think that Thae, who is regarded as one of the highest ranking elites in North Korea, may have sought asylum for reasons that are unrelated to the sanctions or to the regime. “Thae arrived in the Republic of Korea with his wife and children and are under government protection as related organizations are taking necessary steps based on the usual (defection) procedure”, Jeong Joon-hee, a ministry spokesman said in a press briefing.
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North Korea had not issued a response to the defection as of Thursday afternoon. Nor did he explain the route taken by Mr Thae, second in rank to ambassador Hyon Hak Bong in London.
Seoul views such defections has signs of disunity in the most powerful group in Pyongyang and growing disillusionment felt by North Korean elite in the Kim Jong-un regime.
Thae’s oldest son, who is reportedly 26 years old, has a bachelor’s degree in public health economics and his dissertation was on the need for Pyongyang to have more disabled parking spaces for it to become a global city.
Thae lived at or near the North Korean embassy, which is in the leafy west London suburb of Gunnersbury.
As with all high-profile defections, Park said the family of the diplomat still in North Korea could expect to face suspicion and possibly punishment in the future. He seemed so middle- class, so conservative, so dapper. “At events I attended he was the quiet observer keeping tabs on his ambassador, and never hinted at anything other than staunch loyalty to the Workers’ Party”.
During his stint in London, a large part of Thae’s duties involved countering criticism of North Korea’s human rights record and other negative media coverage. In May, the Pyongyang regime publicly executed six officials in charge of supervising North Koreans working overseas after the defection of 13 workers at a restaurant in China.
Ms Oh is a relative of another former Korean partisan guerilla named Oh Baek Ryong, mass-circulation daily Chosun Ilbo reported. As a minister, he was No. 2 man at the North Korean mission in London.
But analysts have cautioned against drawing such conclusions.
Kim said he was in South Korea, where he underwent interrogation, within 24 hours of walking into the South Korean embassy in Singapore.
The defection comes amid tensions in East Asia over South Korea’s decision to deploy a USA missile-defense system as protection against regular attacks from North Korea.
North Korea has tested a series of ballistic missiles since drawing strengthened United Nations sanctions following its fourth ever nuclear test in January.
Few North Koreans get the chance to travel overseas, but the government grants permits for those likely to bring revenue to the state. He said it was a one-day drill.
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An unnamed South Korean army official said the number of artillery mobilized in Thursday’s drills was the biggest ever, adding that the simultaneous shooting in all major frontline areas was a departure from previous exercises.
