BBC "망명한 英주재 北외교관은 선전담당 태용호"
Another high-profile defection from the hermit kingdom.
A diplomat at the North Korean embassy in London has reportedly fled to a third country with his family.
If confirmed,... the defection would be another major embarrassment for Pyongyang... especially since the official's main duties involved promoting an unrealistically positive image of the regime.
Connie Kim has our top story.
Thae Yong-ho , the second highest official at the North Korean embassy in the U.K,...has been identified as the North Korean diplomat seeking asylum in a third country.
The BBC reported Tuesday that Thae has not been seen in public or at his home in West London for few weeks now.
Thae had lived in the U.K. for ten years with his family and was in charge of promoting North Korea's image to the British people.
His defection comes as a surprise as he had been a fervent supporter of Pyongyang's policies and defended wrong media reports about the regime.
He is known to have argued in a speech that the British people had been brainwashed and would even have second thoughts about North Korea if they knew about Pyonyang's free education, housing, and medical care.
BBC's Pyongyang correspondent Stephen Evans said the missing North Korean diplomat was expected to return to the North this summer after finishing his term in office.
Citing a North Korea expert,… the BBC reports the official's defection,…if confirmed,... would represent a highly embarrassing situation for Pyongyang.
Seoul's unification ministry says it cannot confirm the diplomat's defection as of now, but acknowledged that North Korean staff and officials working in overseas diplomatic missions are exposed to completely different living standards, principles, and ideologies.
"There are many opportunities for them to monitor media reports as they live abroad. They have sufficient opportunities to learn more about diverse situations outside North Korea."
Thae's defection is the latest of previous similar cases of North Korean diplomats defecting to third countries.
To name a few, Ko Young-hwan was the first diplomat to defect from the North Korean embassy in Congo in 1991 and North Korean diplomat Hyun sung-il fled from the North Korean mission in Zambia in 1996.
"But recently, Seoul says the number of North Korean defectors from all walks of life and occupations has been on the rise, … partly due to the strong international sanctions imposed on the regime due to its continuous nuclear provocations.
Connie Kim, Arirang News.
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