A senior North Korean diplomat stationed in Cuba has defected to the South, Seoul’s intelligence service has confirmed to the BBC.
The political adviser is believed to be the highest-ranking North Korean diplomat to flee to South Korea since 2016.
The diplomat defected in November, according to the National Intelligence Service (NIS).
It often takes months for details about North Korean defectors to come to light, as the defectors must take courses on South Korean society before they are formally integrated.
According to South Korean media reports, the defector was an adviser in charge of political affairs at the North Korean embassy in Cuba. The NIS did not confirm this to the BBC.
The Chosun Ilbo newspaper said it was able to interview the diplomat, 52-year-old Ri Il Kyu.
The statement said the diplomat defected due to “disillusionment with the regime and an unfair assessment of his work.”
The transfer comes at a time of rising tensions between the two Koreas.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has formally abandoned the goal of reunification with the South and has also recently labeled Seoul as “enemy number one.” This is a dramatic turnaround from just six years ago, when he formally met with then-South Korean leader Moon Jae In.
Since then, there has been an increase in rhetoric on both sides of the border.
The two countries were floating propaganda balloons along their border towns, with those from the north with waste and parasites.
And earlier in June, Pyongyang claimed to have performed a test an advanced nuclear warhead missile.
