North Korea’s ambassador to Rome defects to the West in midnight flit
▶ Talks between Kim and Trump could be put at risk if diplomat seeks asylum in the US
A high-level defection from one of North Korea’s most important embassies is believed to have taken place late last year when Jo Song-gil, the envoy to Rome, fled his post.
North Korea’s embassy not only represents the country in Italy but also at the Vatican and the World Food Organisation, an important partner for a fragile state that frequently fights famine conditions.
It is also believed that Pyongyang and the Holy See are in advanced talks about a papal visit by Pope Francis to the Communist-run country.
Defectors opposed to the regime of Kim Jong-un pointed to the significance of Mr Jo’s defection, with his wife, in a midnight flit from the mission. Only the most trusted of North Korean diplomats are permitted to travel abroad with their families. Mr Jo was a product of the North Korean elite and his father and father-in-law served as ambassadors as well.
A South Korean MP, Kim Min-ki, revealed the news on Thursday, citing a briefing by Seoul’s National Intelligence Service to parliamentarians. La Repubblica, the Italian newspaper, said Mr Jo could still be in Italy under the protection of the country’s intelligence services but that his most likely end destination would be the United States.
An official with the Italian Foreign Ministry said Mr Jo had not formally requested asylum from Italy.
If it is confirmed it will be the highest level defection from the Kim regime since Thae Yong-ho, a former deputy ambassador at the North Korean Embassy in London, fled to South Korea in 2016.
Speaking on South Korean television, Mr Thae said he worked with Mr Jo for more than a decade in the North Korean Foreign Ministry’s Europe bureau.
Mr Jo took up the acting envoy post in October 2017 after Italy expelled the ambassador at the time, Mun Jong-nam, in protest over North Korea’s nuclear and long-range missile tests in defiance of sanctions from the UN Security Council.
Mr Jo’s posting began in May 2015 and was due to end at the end of November. Mr Thae said Mr Jo was replaced by a new ambassador, Kim Chon.
North Korea’s state media previously derided Mr Thae as “human scum” and any move by the US to offer Mr Jo asylum would complicate talks between Washington and Pyongyang to normalise relations.
While North Korean says it is committed to negotiating with the US and the international community over its nuclear programme, there has not been much progress so far.
After Mr Kim and President Donald Trump began the negotiations in June at a summit in Singapore, the prospect of a second meeting has receded. Mr Trump at one point predicted the meeting would take place early this year.
Mr Kim used his New Year address to declare his willingness to meet Mr Trump again at any time but warned that Pyongyang would seek a “new way” if Washington tried to force a one-sided agreement on it.