'Brother Nation North Korea' Ri Il-gyu, Political Counselor at Cuban Embassy
Defected to South Korea with Wife and Children in November Last Year
"Anti-unification Policy Aims to Suppress Residents' Desire for Unification"
An diplomat defected from Cuba, known as 'North Korea's blood ally.' Ri Il-gyu, the political counselor (52) at the North Korean Embassy in Cuba, fled with his wife and children in early November last year and is currently settling in South Korea.
According to government sources on the 16th, Counselor Ri entered South Korea with his family in early November last year. The Ministry of Unification refrained from confirming personal details of defectors, stating, "It is difficult to verify personal information of defectors," but a National Intelligence Service official confirmed, "The defection of the political counselor at the North Korean Embassy in Cuba is true." This is the first confirmed defection of a diplomat since Cho Seong-gil, acting ambassador to Italy, in July 2019, and Ryu Hyun-woo, acting ambassador to Kuwait, in September of the same year.
Counselor Ri joined the North Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1999 and served as the political counselor at the embassy in Cuba from April 2019. He worked in Cuba for a total of about nine years, from September 2011 to January 2016, and again from April 2019 to November last year. He was reportedly recognized by Kim Jong-un with a commendation for his contribution to resolving the 'Cheongcheon River' incident in July 2013, where weapons shipped from Cuba were concealed while attempting to pass through the Panama Canal.
Known as a 'Cuba expert' within the North Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he is the highest-ranking defector diplomat to come to South Korea since Thae Yong-ho, then North Korean deputy ambassador to the UK, defected in 2016. Until last year, he was reportedly tasked with preventing the establishment of diplomatic relations between South Korea and Cuba. Cuba established diplomatic relations with South Korea in February this year.
In an interview with the Chosun Ilbo released on the same day, Counselor Ri revealed that he decided to defect after suffering from bribe demands and unfair work evaluations by Foreign Ministry officials. When he requested to go to Mexico for medical treatment due to deteriorating health, he was refused, which solidified his decision to defect.
He said, "North Korean residents desire and long for unification even more than South Korean citizens," adding, "The answer is unification; this is a thought shared by everyone." Regarding Kim Jong-un's anti-unification policies, he assessed, "The most fundamental reason is to block the unification aspirations of North Korean residents." Counselor Ri also disclosed information that Han Sung-ryeol, former deputy minister in charge of the United States, was publicly executed in 2019 on charges of being a 'U.S. spy,' and that the entire family of former Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho was sent to a political prison camp in 2019 on corruption charges.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Unification revealed last year that the number of defectors from elite groups such as diplomats, overseas workers, and international students was the highest in recent years. Although specific numbers were not disclosed for personal protection, it is known to be around ten people.
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