North Korean diplomat in Cuba defected to South Korea in November, Seoul says

SEOUL, South Korea (news agencies) — South Korea’s spy agency said Tuesday that a North Korea diplomat based in Cuba has fled to South Korea, the latest in a series of defections by members of the North’s ruling elite in recent years.

The National Intelligence Service said media reports on the defection of a North Korean counselor of political affairs in Cuba were true. A brief statement by the NIS public affairs office gave no further details.

South Korea’s mass-circulation Chosun Ilbo newspaper reported earlier Tuesday that diplomat Ri Il Kyu fled to South Korea with his wife and children last November.

Chosun Ilbo cited Ri as telling the newspaper that he had decided to defect because of disillusionment with North Korea’s political system. But Yonhap news agency, citing a South Korean unidentified government source, reported that Ri decided to flee after conflicts with North Korean Foreign Ministry officials about his job evaluations.

In 2016, Tae Yongho, then a minister at the North Korean Embassy in London, defected to South Korea. He told reporters in Seoul that he decided to flee because he didn’t want his children to live “miserable” lives in North Korea and he fell into “despair” after watching North Korean leader Kim Jong Un execute officials and pursue development of nuclear weapons.

North Korea has called him “human scum” and accused him of embezzling government money and committing other crimes. Tae was elected to South Korea’s parliament in 2020.

In 2019, North Korea’s acting ambassador to Italy, Jo Song Gil, arrived in South Korea.

Also in 2019, North Korea’s acting ambassador to Kuwait arrived in South Korea with his family. Lawmakers in 2021 cited the NIS as telling them the diplomat changed his name to Ryu Hyun-woo after arriving in South Korea.

South Korea’s unification and foreign ministries said they couldn’t confirm reports about Ri’s defection.

It’s unusual for a member of the North’s ruling elite to defect to South Korea. Last year, about 10 North Koreans categorized as members of the North’s elite arrived in South Korea, according to Yonhap.

About 34,000 North Koreans have defected to South Korea to avoid economic hardship and political suppression since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. A majority of them are women from the North’s poorer northern regions.