On Wednesday, South Korea’s Unification Ministry confirmed that a senior North Korean diplomat based in London had defected to South Korea, one of the highest-ranking officials to do so.
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South Korea’s Unification Ministry announced that Thae Yong-ho, a minister at the North Korean Embassy in London, and his family are now under the South Korean government’s protection after leaving his post in the British capital.
Jeong Joon-hee, a spokesman at South Korea’s unification ministry, said that Thae was “sick and exhausted of the Kim Jong-un regime” and hankered after a life in a democracy, The Guardian reported. The spokesperson also indicated that the incident was proof that the Kim establishment is dwindling, and at a “breaking point”.
It says North Korea’s military hasn’t shown any signs of unusual activities in response.
“(The impact) is mostly psychological.
North Korea may send agents after a top diplomat who defected to South Korea recently, a defection expert told CNN.
Overall, an estimated 1,275 North Koreans defected in 2015, the lowest number since 2002. “Thae’s defection is probably an independent event”, he said.
According to South Korean media reports, both Thae and his wife were of blue-blooded North Korean revolutionary stock.
Hwang, an architect of the North’s Juche Ideology and former president of Kim Il Sung University – and mentor of former North Korean leader Kim Jong-il – infuriated Pyongyang when he defected in 1997. In June, three more North Korean restaurant employees working in China escaped to Seoul.
The 55-year-old envoy was also tasked with defending the country’s human rights records and promoting its image to the Britons.
As such, his defection is seen as “deeply embarrassing” for the Kim government, according to John Nilsson-Wright, the head of the Asia program at Chatham House.
Thae is also said to have a daughter, presumably the couple’s youngest child, but no information about her has been disclosed. Nor did he explain the route taken by Mr Thae, second in rank to ambassador Hyon Hak Bong in London. If sent overseas they don’t spend their time going to cocktail parties. A spokesman for the ministry further said that the defection is a sign of weakening unity within the North’s ruling class. Seoul’s unification ministry said Friday that it can not confirm any of the reports due to safety concerns and for diplomatic reasons.
Mr Steve Evans, a BBC Korea correspondent who had met Mr Thae in London, remembered the North Korean as a middle-aged man who appeared to enjoy life in the suburbs of west London.
Defectors are referred to by the North in the harshest of terms. Seoul said North Korea fired first, but North Korea denied firing and responded with anger. Cheong is a senior researcher at the Sejong Institute. The Unification Ministry remained tight-lipped on Thae’s family.
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Video grab of Thae Tong-Ho speaking at a meeting after defection to South Korea from North Korea.
