Thae Yong Ho is said to be the highest-ranking North Korean official to defect to South Korea.
Thae Yong Ho , deputy ambassador of the North Korean embassy in London, has left his native land with his family to defect to NoKor’s rival, South Korea.
Officials in Seoul have confirmed Thae’s changing sides after his disappearance in North Korea’s embassy in London has been reported. South Korean Unification Ministry official said Thae and his family are under the government’s protection.
Jeong Joon-hee, spokesman at the ministry, told a news conference: “They are currently under government protection and relevant institutions are going ahead with necessary procedures as usual”.
His main mission in London had been to spread positive perceptions of the North Korean leadership and that Kim Jong Un had been misreported and misunderstood. In several media contacts, Thae spoke publicly about media coverage of North Korea, including the press behavior of sensationalizing stories about Pyongynag.
“I don’t blame reporters,” Thae said during a speech in late 2014. “If they broadcast (North Korea) as it is, the editors of these TV stations and newspapers will (change it).”
“The more horrifying, the more shocking stories they create, the more they will be viewed by the British public,” he reportedly added.
But ironically, he left his post because of dissatisfaction and being unhappy with the regime in Pyongyang and also for the future of his child.
The defection comes after North Korea responded angrily to a US plan to place an advanced missile defense system in South Korea.
The North has warned of unspecified retaliation and fired several missiles into the sea earlier this month.
But Jeong declined to give details on the timing of Thae’s arrival or his itinerary.
Defections are a source of bitter contention between the rival Koreas, and South Korea doesn’t always make high-profile cases public. North Korea often accuses the South of kidnapping or enticing its citizens to defect.
