North Korea’s deputy ambassador to Britain defected after becoming disillusioned with Kim Jong Un’s oppressive regime and learning about the success and prosperity of South Korea from films and television programmes.
Thae Yong Ho changed sides in August, taking his wife and two British-educated sons with him to Seoul. South Korean security officials who spent four months interviewing him spoke at a closed session of a parliamentary committee meeting in Seoul yesterday. “Thae said that he had come to grasp South Korea’s democracy and development by watching South Korean dramas and movies during his long stay in foreign countries,” said Lee Cheol Woo, head of the intelligence committee.
He reported Mr Thae as saying: “There are many ranking North Korean officials suffering from depression over concerns they will have to live like slaves for a long time if the North’s young leader rules the country for decades. But senior North Korean officials have fears that they could fail to adapt to South Korea if they escape the North. More elite North Koreans will try to defect if the South can guarantee decent jobs for them here.”
Mr Thae, 55, held the post of minister at the small embassy in the west London suburb of Acton. Among his duties were monitoring the activities of North Korean defectors and countering criticisms of his country’s human rights record. After he defected, Pyongyang’s official media called him “human scum”.
