South Korea’s spy agency says a North Korea diplomat based in Cuba has defected to South Korea.
July 15, 2024 at 10:21 PMFILE - A North Korean flag flutters in the wind atop a 160-meter tower in the North's Kijong-dong village near the truce village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone in Paju, South Korea on Sept, 28, 2017. South Korea's spy agency said Tuesday, July 16, 2024, that a North Korea diplomat based in Cuba has defected to South Korea.
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.
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.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.
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.
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