Invite Wife And Children, Senior North Korean Diplomat In Cuba Tolot To South Korea

Illustration of the North Korean Embassy. (Wikimedia Commons/MosheA)

JAKARTA - A senior North Korean diplomat based in Cuba defected with his wife and child to South Korea in November, South Korean media reported on Tuesday, and became North Korean diplomat with the highest rank to flee to South Korea since 2016.

Before fleeing to South Korea, Ri Il Kyu (52) told South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo he was a counselor at the North Korean Embassy in Cuba. Yonhap News Agency also reported that Ri had defected to South Korea, citing unnamed government sources.

Ri said he flew out of Cuba with his family. However, he did not elaborate on how he made the high-risk escape.

"I bought a flight ticket and called my wife and child to tell them about my decision, six hours before the defection. I didn't say South Korea, but said let's stay abroad," he said.

One of Ri's duties at the embassy is to hinder efforts to establish diplomatic relations between Cuba and South Korea, according to Chosun Ilbo.

However, South Korea and Cuba agreed to establish diplomatic relations in February.

Ri joined the North Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1999. He received praise from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un for successfully negotiating with Panama to lift the detention of a North Korean ship caught carrying weapons from Cuba in 2013, Chosun said.

He told the newspaper he decided to defect due to disappointment with the regime and unfair evaluation of his work.

Ri said she made the final decision to run away when her request to travel to Mexico for medical treatment was rejected last year, adding that her parents and in-laws who might face retaliation for her defection had died.

North Korea has an embassy in Cuba, although its ambassador returned to its country in March, according to media reports.

Separately, South Korea's Unification Ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs, declined to comment on the report, citing privacy concerns.

The last known high-level defection to South Korea was Tae Yong-ho's defection, a former North Korean deputy ambassador to the UK, in 2016.

"I hope all former North Korean diplomats will join forces and work hard for the unification movement to realize the dreams of North Korean officials and people so that their children can live freely in South Korea," Tae said in a Facebook post on Tuesday.

"Welcome, Ilkyu Advisor!" Tae said, adding Ri was his former rival in table tennis at the ministry abroad.

It is known that North Koreans caught trying to defect will face severe penalties, including the death penalty, according to human rights groups and successful defectors.

Fewer North Korean defectors have come to South Korea in recent years, due to strict restrictions on border crossings to China and high intermediary costs, human rights groups and experts say.

Last year, 196 North Korean defectors came to Seoul, down from 2,700 defectors a decade ago, according to South Korean government data. Most of North Korean defectors who recently defected to South Korea have long lived abroad, such as diplomat Ri, human rights activists say.

Details about North Korean defection often take months to reveal, as defectors must obtain permission from the authorities and undergo education about the people and system of South Korea.

Pyongyang last year closed several embassies in an effort to "restart its diplomatic capacity efficiently".