Senior North Korean diplomat defected to South Korea from Cuba

A senior North Korean diplomat based in Cuba defected with his wife and child to South Korea in November, South Korean media reports said on Tuesday, becoming the highest-ranking North Korean diplomat to escape to the South since 2016.

Before fleeing to the South, Ri Il Kyu, 52, told the South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo he was a counselor at the North Korean embassy in Cuba. Yonhap News Agency also reported Ri had defected to the South, citing an anonymous government source.

The South's unification ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs, declined to comment on the reports, citing privacy issues.

Among Ri's jobs at the embassy was to block North Korea's rival South Korea and old ally Cuba from forging diplomatic ties, Chosun Ilbo reported. In February, the two countries established diplomatic relations.

Ri said he flew out of Cuba with his family but he did not elaborate further on how he pulled off the high-risk escape.

"I bought flight tickets and called my wife and kid to tell them about my decision, six hours before the defection. I didn't say South Korea, but said, let's live abroad," he said.

He told the newspaper he had decided to defect over disillusionment with the regime and unfair evaluation of his work.

Ri said he made a final decision to run when his request to travel to Mexico for medical treatment was denied last year, adding that his parents and parents-in-law who might face reprisals for his defection had passed away.

"I hope that all former North Korean diplomats will join forces and work hard for the unification movement to realize the dream of North Korean officials and people to have their children live freely in South Korea," Tae said in a Facebook post on Tuesday.

"Welcome, Counsellor Ilkyu!" said Tae, adding that Ri was a former rival in table tennis games at the foreign ministry.

Reuters