North Korean diplomat disappears
in Italy
 |
| North Korea's embassy to Italy, located in Rome.- AFP |
South Korea's spy agency says the North Korean ambassador to
Italy has disappeared. The announcement follows reports that Pyongyang's top
diplomat in Italy had sought asylum from an unnamed Western country.
By Stefan J. Bos
The disappeared North Korean official has been identified as
Jo Song-gil. He is the acting North Korean ambassador to Rome and the son and
son-in-law of high-ranking North Korean officials.
South Korea’s spy agency told lawmakers in Seoul on Thursday
that Jo went into hiding with his wife in November before his term in Italy
ended. His whereabouts are not publicly known now.
It is believed he has sought asylum in an unnamed Western
nation.
The Italian Foreign Ministry said in a statement however
that the envoy has not yet asked Italian authorities for asylum.
Earlier defection
The last senior diplomat to defect was the deputy ambassador
in London. Thae Yong-ho abandoned his post in 2016, along with his wife and
children. He defected to South Korea.
Thae said in an interview with South Korean television on
Thursday that the Italian embassy was critical for North Korea because it
handled negotiations with the World Food Programme over food aid to the North
and was a hub for smuggling luxury items to the North Korean elite.
He earlier spoke in separate remarks about the difficulties
he faced. "The reason for my defection is a very complex one,"
he said. "Because I thought and planned this defection for quite a
long time. We just disappeared, and they could not find us. I believe that my
defection in the long term will encourage further defections."
As one of the highest-ranking officials to ever defect from
the North, Thae's move was seen as a blow to Kim Jong-un's regime.
He would go on to urge the world to spread information in
North Korea to undermine Kim's status among his people amid concerns about
massive human rights abuses and detention camps where Christians and others
face immense hardships. The latest defection by another high ranking diplomat was
expected to raise at least some anxiety among Kim Jong-un allies.
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