North Korean diplomat who vanished in 2018 defected to South: lawmakers
- Lawmaker Jeon Hae-cheol said Jo Song-gil, North Korea’s former acting ambassador to Italy, came to the South after expressing wishes to resettle there
- If confirmed, Jo would be the highest-level official from the North to defect to South Korea since 1997
South Korea’s spy agency had earlier told lawmakers that Jo left his official residence in Rome with his wife in November 2018 and was under protection at an unspecified location outside the European country.
Lawmaker Ha Tae-keung, a member of the intelligence committee in the National Assembly, wrote on Facebook that Jo arrived in South Korea in July 2019 and is under the protection of the South Korean government.
Ha said he was confirming Jo’s arrival on behalf of the committee to prevent a media frenzy, after a South Korean TV station reported about his defection on Tuesday evening. Ha said the committee decided not to provide further details about Jo for his safety.
Jeon Hae-cheol, the committee’s chairman, told reporters later on Wednesday that Jo came to South Korea voluntarily after expressing wishes to resettle here several times. Jeon said Jo did not want his arrival to be publicised because of worries about relatives in North Korea, according to Jeon’s office.
