North Korea’s ambassador to Kuwait gave up the south in a continuing sign of rebellion against Kim Jong Un.
Ryu Hyun Woo actually arrived in South Korea in September 2019, but was only revealed by Tae Yong Ho, a fellow deserter from the Hermit Kingdom, who is now a parliamentarian in Seoul.
“I decided to make a mistake because I wanted to give my child a better future,” Ryu told Agence France-Presse (AFP), quoting Maeil Business.
Ryu had led the North Korean embassy in Kuwait since former ambassador So Chang Sik was ousted after a 2017 UN resolution sought to reduce the country’s diplomatic missions abroad.
It is seen as a key post because Kuwait is a major source of foreign currency for Pyongyang, which has sent thousands of workers there.
Ryu is also the son-in-law of Jon Il Chun, who once oversaw a Labor Party office responsible for managing the Kim family’s secret coffers, called Room 39.
His desertion could be a sign that the North Korean elite supporting Kim’s power base is moving away from him, Tae said.
About 30,000 North Koreans fled repression and poverty under the communist regime and settled in the capitalist south, according to AFP.
In early 2019, North Korean Ambassador to Italy Jo Song Gil disappeared with his wife from the embassy and reappeared in South Korea.
Tae was also a deserter, fleeing his position as deputy ambassador of North Korea to the UK before settling in the south in 2016.
Now a southern politician, he encourages others to follow his path to a new life.
“I want to convey to my colleagues around the world and to North Korean elites that there is an alternative to North Korea and that the door is open,” Tae said in an interview at a recent Reuters Next conference.
The National Intelligence Service declined to comment.
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