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Ri Il Gyu, North Korea’s former second-highest diplomat in Cuba, has expressed concerns about North Korea’s interest in a potential re-election of Donald Trump. In a recent interview, he described it as a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” for Pyongyang to negotiate a deal that could ease economic sanctions. Ri warned that such a deal would be “a ploy, 100 per cent deception,” intended to strengthen North Korea’s position.
Ri, who served as a political counsellor at the North Korean Embassy in Havana, defected to South Korea last November.The meticulously planned escape, considered one of the most high-profile in recent years, was publicly revealed in July. He carried out the plan alone and informed his family afterward. “My wife first told me not to make such a dreadful joke. So I showed her our plane tickets, and she was speechless,” Ri recounted to The Associated Press.
The 52-year-old and his family left for Havana’s airport at dawn, boarding a flight to a third country before finally arriving in South Korea. His defection marks the highest-ranking North Korean official to defect since Tae Yongho’s escape in 2016. Ri’s departure, amidst escalating tensions between the Koreas, is likely to unsettle North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, potentially undermining his control over elite diplomats. Ri suggested that his public comments could provoke anger from the regime: “The Kim Jong Un regime will likely be in a very bad mood if they see me speaking publicly in media interviews like this.”
Ri’s decision to defect was triggered by the North Korean foreign ministry’s denial of his request to visit Mexico for medical treatment, which he believed was blocked by his superior in Pyongyang due to a previous bribe request. “That made me so mad,” Ri said. “Without that incident, I probably would have kept thinking about defecting, but without ever leaving.”
At the time, Cuba had not established diplomatic relations with South Korea, complicating the process. Ri’s defection, with the help of South Korean authorities, remains a closely guarded secret to avoid diplomatic complications and to support other potential defectors.
Since the late 1990s, around 34,000 North Koreans have resettled in South Korea, with an increasing number of elite defectors arriving in recent years.
Ri, who served as a political counsellor at the North Korean Embassy in Havana, defected to South Korea last November.The meticulously planned escape, considered one of the most high-profile in recent years, was publicly revealed in July. He carried out the plan alone and informed his family afterward. “My wife first told me not to make such a dreadful joke. So I showed her our plane tickets, and she was speechless,” Ri recounted to The Associated Press.
The 52-year-old and his family left for Havana’s airport at dawn, boarding a flight to a third country before finally arriving in South Korea. His defection marks the highest-ranking North Korean official to defect since Tae Yongho’s escape in 2016. Ri’s departure, amidst escalating tensions between the Koreas, is likely to unsettle North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, potentially undermining his control over elite diplomats. Ri suggested that his public comments could provoke anger from the regime: “The Kim Jong Un regime will likely be in a very bad mood if they see me speaking publicly in media interviews like this.”
Ri’s decision to defect was triggered by the North Korean foreign ministry’s denial of his request to visit Mexico for medical treatment, which he believed was blocked by his superior in Pyongyang due to a previous bribe request. “That made me so mad,” Ri said. “Without that incident, I probably would have kept thinking about defecting, but without ever leaving.”
At the time, Cuba had not established diplomatic relations with South Korea, complicating the process. Ri’s defection, with the help of South Korean authorities, remains a closely guarded secret to avoid diplomatic complications and to support other potential defectors.
Since the late 1990s, around 34,000 North Koreans have resettled in South Korea, with an increasing number of elite defectors arriving in recent years.
