Written By Lisa Murimi
A high-profile North Korean diplomat stationed in Cuba has defected to South Korea, Seoul’s spy agency confirmed to the BBC.
The political counselor, believed to be the highest-ranking North Korean diplomat to escape to the South since 2016, defected in November, according to the National Intelligence Service (NIS).
Details about North Korean defections often take months to surface as defectors undergo courses on South Korean society before formal integration.
South Korean media reports identify the defector as 52-year-old Ri Il Kyu, a counselor responsible for political affairs at the North Korean embassy in Cuba. The NIS has not confirmed his identity.
The Chosun Ilbo newspaper reported that Ri defected due to “disillusionment with the North Korean regime and a bleak future.”
His role reportedly involved preventing Havana from establishing official diplomatic ties with Seoul.
However, in February, Cuba and South Korea did establish official relations, seen as a setback for Pyongyang.
“Every North Korean thinks at least once about living in South Korea,” Ri was quoted as saying.
The last known high-profile defection to the South was Tae Yong-ho, North Korea’s former deputy ambassador to the UK, in 2016.
South Korea recently marked its first North Korean Defectors’ Day, with President Yoon Suk Yeol promising better support for defectors and incentives for companies hiring them.
Yoon, a conservative, has adopted a hawkish stance towards North Korea, supporting sanctions against Kim Jong Un’s regime and pledging to develop pre-emptive strike technology.
The defection occurs amid heightened tensions between the two Koreas. Kim Jong Un has abandoned the goal of reunification with the South, branding Seoul “Enemy number One.”
Both nations have increased hostile rhetoric and propaganda, with North Korea recently claiming to have test-fired an advanced nuclear warhead missile.
