A high-profile North Korean diplomat stationed in Cuba has defected to the South, Seoul’s spy company has 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 diplomat defected in November, the Nationwide Intelligence Service (NIS) stated.
Particulars about North Koreans defections usually take months to return to mild because the defectors should take programs on South Korean society earlier than they’re formally built-in.
South Korean media experiences say the defector was a counsellor accountable for political affairs on the North Korean embassy in Cuba. The NIS has not confirmed this to the BBC.
The Chosun Ilbo newspaper stated it was capable of interview the diplomat, whom it recognized as 52-year-old Ri Il Kyu.
It stated the diplomat defected due to “disillusionment with the regime and unfair analysis of his work”.
The defection comes at a time of heightened tensions between the 2 Koreas.
North Korean chief Kim Jong Un has formally deserted the purpose of reunification with with the South and in addition not too long ago branded Seoul as “Enemy quantity One” – a dramatic turnaround from simply six years in the past when he formally met then South Korean Chief Moon Jae In.
Since then, there was an upping of rhetoric on either side of the border.
The 2 international locations floated propaganda balloons alongside their border cities, with these from the North containing trash and parasites.
And earlier in June, Pyongyang claimed to have test-fired a complicated nuclear warhead missile.
