A senior North Korean diplomat stationed in Cuba defected to South Korea in November, becoming the highest-ranking North Korean diplomat to flee to South Korea since 2016, according to a South Korean newspaper.
Ri Il-kyu, 52, was in charge of political affairs at the North Korean embassy in Cuba before fleeing to South Korea, Chosun Ilbo reported on Tuesday, citing an interview with Ri.
One of Lee’s jobs at the embassy was to prevent North Korea’s rival South Korea from establishing diplomatic ties with its old ally Cuba, the newspaper reported. In February, the two countries established diplomatic relations.
South Korea’s Unification Ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs, declined to confirm the report, citing privacy concerns.
Details of North Korean defections often take months to come to light, and defectors need approval from authorities and an education course on South Korean society and institutions.
Ri Yong Ho joined the North Korean Foreign Ministry in 1999 and was honored by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for successfully negotiating with Panama to lift the seizure of a North Korean ship carrying weapons from Cuba in 2013, North Korea said.
He told the newspaper that he decided to defect due to disillusionment with the regime and an unfair assessment of his work.
“Every North Korean has thought about living in South Korea at least once. Disillusionment with the North Korean regime and the bleak future made me consider defecting,” he told the newspaper.
“In fact, North Koreans long for reunification more than South Koreans. Everyone believes that reunification is the only way for children to have a better future. Today, the Kim Jong Un regime has brutally eliminated the last glimmer of hope for the people.
He said he flew out of Cuba with his family, but gave no further details on how he accomplished the high-risk escape.
“Six hours before defecting, I bought a plane ticket and called my wife and children to tell them my decision. I didn’t say South Korea, I said, let’s live abroad,” he said.
Lee said he made the final decision to run after his request to travel to Mexico for medical treatment was rejected last year, adding that his parents and parents-in-law had died because they faced possible retaliation for his defection.
North Koreans who attempt to defect face severe penalties, including the death penalty, according to human rights groups and successful defectors.
Human rights groups and experts say fewer North Korean defectors are arriving in South Korea in recent years due to tight border restrictions into China and high broker fees.
South Korean government data shows that 196 North Korean defectors came to Seoul in 2023, down from 2,700 a decade ago.
Human rights activists say most of the recent North Korean defectors to South Korea are long-time overseas residents, such as diplomat Ri Yong Ho.
The last such high-profile defection from South Korea was that of Tae Yong-ho, North Korea’s former deputy ambassador to the UK, in 2016.
According to Chosun Ilbo, other noteworthy defections include Jo Song-gil, acting ambassador to Italy in 2019, and Ryu Hyun-woo, acting ambassador to Kuwait in 2021, who served as first secretary and counselor respectively.
South Korean President Yun Seok-yeol pledged to provide better financial support to North Korean defectors and provide tax incentives to companies that employ them when attending the first North Korean Defectors Day ceremony on Sunday.
North Korea closed some embassies last year to “effectively realign its diplomatic capabilities” and South Korea said the closures showed the country was struggling under the weight of sanctions.
North Korea has an embassy in Cuba, but its ambassador returned home in March, according to media reports.
Reuters contributed to this report
