Missing diplomat told to go to N Korea

SEOUL: A former North Korean diplomat who staged a defection to the South yesterday urged an old colleague, Jo Song Gil, who has gone missing in Italy, to defect to Seoul, following a report that he was seeking asylum in the US.

Jo, 44, was until recently North Korea’s acting ambassador to Italy. He disappeared with his wife in November, South Korean authorities said.

Italy’s La Repubblica newspaper reported that he was under the protection of the Italian intelligence service. |