Dictator Kim Jong Un’s deputy ambassador to Britain defects to South Korea
NORTH Korea’s deputy ambassador to Britain has defected in what is seen as a major spying coup against the communist state.
North Korea’s deputy ambassador to Britain has defected
Security experts say British intelligence will be keen to question diplomat Thae Yong Ho.
But they also believe dictator Kim Jong Un would be prepared to exact revenge on him if he can.
Mr Thae is the highest-ranking of Kim’s officials to swap sides and will be familiar with the hardline regime’s darkest secrets.
One of his roles during his four years in London was to monitor the activities of defectors and other opponents.
He has surfaced in South Korea after disappearing from North Korea’s Embassy in Ealing, west London.
The diplomat worked at the North Korean embassy in Ealing, west London
Jeong Joon Hee, of South Korea’s Unification Ministry, confirmed he is “under government protection”.
Thae's yearning for a free democratic system and the future of his child are motives for the defection
Mr Thae had been worried about the future of his family. One of his sons has obtained a place at Imperial College, London, to study maths and computer science.
Mr Jeong said: “Thae is saying his distaste for the Kim Jong Un regime and yearning for the Republic of Korea’s free democratic system and the future of his child are motives for the defection.”
He has surfaced in South Korea after disappearing from London
James Hoare, a former charge d’affaires at Britain’s embassy in North Korea, said: “Pyongyang will be furious about this. He never, in front of me, expressed any ideological doubts. As a guide to how North Korean bureaucrats operate he would have a certain value. He may also have had other roles.”
A source at the suburban property which houses the UK embassy said: “If it is appropriate to give a response, then you might hear about our response.”