In 2023, 196 North Korean defectors came to Seoul, down from as many as 2,700 a decade ago.
SEOUL – A senior North Korean diplomat based in Cuba defected with his wife and child to South Korea in November, South Korean media reports said on July 16, becoming the highest-ranking North Korean diplomat to escape to the South since 2016.
Among Mr Ri’s jobs at the embassy was to block North Korea’s rival, South Korea, and old ally Cuba from forging diplomatic ties, Chosun Ilbo reported. In February, the South and Cuba established diplomatic relations. Fewer North Korean defectors have been arriving in South Korea in recent years due to strict limits on border crossings into China and hefty broker fees, human rights groups and experts say.
He told the newspaper that he had decided to defect over disillusionment with the regime and unfair evaluation of his work. “I hope that all former North Korean diplomats will join forces and work hard for the unification movement to realise the dream of North Korean officials and people to have their children live freely in South Korea,” Mr Tae said in a Facebook post on July 16.
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