(Photo : Photo by Linh Pham/Getty Images)
LANG SON, VIETNAM - FEBRUARY 26: (EDITORS NOTE: Retransmission with alternate crop.) Kim Jong-un waves from his car after arriving by train at Dong Dang railway station near the border with China on February 26, 2019 in Lang Son, Vietnam. North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un arrived in Vietnam for the first time on Tuesday as preparations continue in Hanoi for the summit with U.S President Donald Trump in Hanoi later this week. Reports have indicated that both leaders could agree on a joint statement declaring an end to the 1950-53 Korean War while denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and ending international sanctions against Pyongyang is expected to be discussed during the summit.
In a recent string of high-profile escapes from the isolated country, the acting ambassador to Kuwait and now the North Korea defector joined South Korea, a lawmaker from the south have confirmed on Monday.
North Korea's embassy in Kuwait had been led by Ryu Hyun Woo since former Ambassador So Chang Sik was expelled after a 2017 United Nations resolution sought to scale back the overseas diplomatic missions of the country.
According to Aljazeera, Tae Yong Ho, who was the deputy ambassador of North Korea to Britain before he settled in the South in 2016 and being elected as a lawmaker last year, shared that Ryu defected to South Korea last September.
Moreover, the country of Kuwait had been a major source of foreign currency for the North, which sent thousands of laborers there, and the majority of them were assigned to construction projects.
The former deputy ambassador of North Korea to Britain, Tae, also mentioned that Ryu is the son-in-law of Jon Il Chun, the person who oversaw a Worker's party bureau responsible for managing the ruling of the secret coffers of the Kim family, labeled room 39.
On the other hand, when asked regarding the issue, The National Intelligence Service refused to give any comment.
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Drifting Power of the Regime
Tae Yong Ho, the former North Korean ambassador to Britain but now a lawmaker in the South, also shared that the defection of Ryu could be a sign that the elite in North Korea who shore up Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un's power base has been drifting away from him slowly but constantly.
The move made by the North Korea defector was just several months later after the acting ambassador of North Korea to Italy, Jo Song-Gil, disappeared with his wife from the embassy and resurfaced in South Korea.
Based on the report of Reuters, the knowledge and experiences on the outside of the Hermit state that he gained as a diplomat had fostered disillusionment among his family, that why he decided to escape and gave his children the freedom that they deserve.
He also called the attention of other officials to follow what he had done.
During an interview, Tae also said he wants to deliver to his colleagues that are working around the world and the elites in North Korea that there is an alternative to North Korea, and the door is open, The Wall Street Journal reported.
For several decades, a lot of individuals from the Hermit State have defected to other nations aside from the South which is their closest option.
Also, the southwest London suburb of New Malden is also a favorite place for the Korean community, as they're around 600 North Korean defectors in the area.
North Korea organized a rare party congress a few weeks ago which ended with its Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un adopting to bolster the nuclear deterrent of the country.
During the congress, the Supreme Leader mentioned that the country was developing a host of advanced weaponry.
After the congress, a military parade in Pyongyang has exhibited a new submarine-launched ballistic missile.
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