North Korean diplomat defects to South Korea

Ri Il-kyu, a senior North Korean diplomat, defected with his family to South Korea in November last year, South Korean media reported on Tuesday.

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The same diplomat, who was an advisor at the North Korean embassy in Cuba, confirmed this information to the South Korean newspaper. Chosun Ilbo.

Ri Il Kyu's roles in the embassy

At the embassy, Ri Il-kyu was tasked with preventing South Korea and Cuba from establishing diplomatic relations. However, in February, the two countries formalized relations, The New York Times reported. Chosun Ilbo.

“I bought plane tickets and called my wife and son to tell them my decision, six hours before defecting,” Ri Il-kyu said. “I didn’t say South Korea, but I said, ‘Let’s live abroad.’”

North Korean defectors face severe punishment. The regime even exterminates those who disobey orders. In recent years, the number of North Koreans fleeing Kim Jong-un’s regime has declined due to border restrictions with China.

In 2023, at least 196 North Koreans arrived in Seoul, the capital of South Korea. In the past decade, there were 2,700, according to data from the South Korean government.

Details of defections often take months to emerge. Those who choose the neighboring country to live in are given a course on South Korean society.

The North Korean diplomat has already received praise from Kim Jong Un.

Ri Il-kyu, who joined North Korea's foreign ministry in 1999, received praise from dictator Kim Jong-un for negotiating the release of a North Korean ship seized in Panama in 2013.

He decided to defect after becoming disillusioned with the regime and being denied medical treatment in Mexico last year. His parents and in-laws, who could have faced reprisals, are already dead.

The last high-profile defection was that of Thae Yong-ho, a former deputy ambassador to the United Kingdom, in 2016.

“I hope all former North Korean diplomats will join forces and work hard to make the unification movement realize the North Korean people’s dream of their children living freely in South Korea,” Thae Yong-ho said on Facebook on Tuesday. “Hello, Counselor Ri Il-kyu!”

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol promised on Sunday, the 14th, to provide more financial support to North Korean defectors. Moreover, he said he would provide tax incentives to companies that employ them. He made the statement during the opening ceremony of North Korean Defectors Day.

North Korea closed some of its embassies last year to reorganize its diplomatic capabilities, a sign South Korea sees as a sign of the difficulties caused by the sanctions.