North Korea’s acting ambassador to Italy has reportedly “disappeared”, and is suspected of trying to defect to an unnamed Western country, according to South Korean intelligence.
The news of the possible defection by Jo Song Gil (pictured above) and his wife was reported to South Korean government MPs by Seoul’s National Intelligence Service, who say they have not been able to make contact with the missing official.
A spokesperson for South Korean MP Kim Min-ki told CNN that Jo’s appointment as acting ambassador was reportedly due to finish in November last year. He was last seen at the embassy earlier that month, and has not been seen since.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in said his office had no information about the case, and Korea’s National Intelligence Service says that it has not yet been able to confirm that Jo and his wife are attempting to defect.
According to the Associated Press, a high-profile defection by one of North Korea’s elite would be a “huge embarrassment for leader Kim Jong Un as he pursues diplomacy with Seoul and Washington and seeks to portray himself as a geopolitical player”.
Jo had been acting ambassador to Italy since 2017, when his predecessor was expelled from Rome following North Korea’s sixth nuclear test.
If Jo has defected, he would be the highest profile North Korean official to do so since Thae Yong Ho abandoned his position as deputy envoy to the United Kingdom in 2016.
-
The UK’s supposed Christian revivalThe Explainer Research has shown that claims of increased church attendance, particularly among young people, ‘may be misleading’
-
How long can Keir Starmer last as Labour leader?Today's Big Question Pathway to a coup ‘still unclear’ even as potential challengers begin manoeuvring into position
-
Child-free train carriages: has push for adults-only spaces gone too far?Talking Point Under-12s ban on premium commuter train carriages in France sparks backlash across the political divide
-
Israel retrieves final hostage’s body from GazaSpeed Read The 24-year-old police officer was killed during the initial Hamas attack
-
China’s Xi targets top general in growing purgeSpeed Read Zhang Youxia is being investigated over ‘grave violations’ of the law
-
Panama and Canada are negotiating over a crucial copper mineIn the Spotlight Panama is set to make a final decision on the mine this summer
-
Why Greenland’s natural resources are nearly impossible to mineThe Explainer The country’s natural landscape makes the task extremely difficult
-
Iran cuts internet as protests escalateSpeed Reada Government buildings across the country have been set on fire
-
US nabs ‘shadow’ tanker claimed by RussiaSpeed Read The ship was one of two vessels seized by the US military
-
How Bulgaria’s government fell amid mass protestsThe Explainer The country’s prime minister resigned as part of the fallout
-
Femicide: Italy’s newest crimeThe Explainer Landmark law to criminalise murder of a woman as an ‘act of hatred’ or ‘subjugation’ but critics say Italy is still deeply patriarchal
