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A North Korean diplomat based in Cuba defected to South Korea in November, just months before Seoul and Havana established diplomatic relations, the South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo reported yesterday.
According to the newspaper, Lee Il-gyu has been in charge of political affairs at the Pyongyang Embassy in Cuba since 2019, with the mission of “obstructing the establishment of diplomatic relations between South Korea and Cuba.”
He added that Ri Yong-ho defected to South Korea with his wife and children in early November, making him the highest-ranking North Korean diplomat known to have defected to South Korea since Thae Yong-ho, Pyongyang’s deputy ambassador to London, defected in 2016.
South Korea’s Unification and Foreign Ministries said they could not confirm the defection.
In an interview with Chosun Ilbo, Lee said he decided to defect after Pyongyang rejected his request to go to Mexico for treatment for his injuries, although he could not receive the necessary treatment in Cuba due to a lack of specialized equipment.
The young man also claimed that he became the subject of an unfair assessment report after he rejected a bribe request from a North Korean Foreign Ministry official.
“Every North Korean has at least once thought about living in South Korea,” he told Chosun Ilbo. “Disillusionment with the North Korean regime and the bleak future made me consider the possibility of defecting,” he considered.
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