Monitoring desk
\nNorth Korean
\n\u201cActing ambassador Jo Song Gil\u2019s term was ending in late November last year and he escaped the diplomatic compound in early November\u201d with his wife, lawmaker Kim Min-ki told reporters.
\nJo, 48, has been acting ambassador in Rome since October 2017 after Italy expelled the then ambassador Mun Jong Nam in protest at a North Korean nuclear test a month earlier in violation of UN resolutions.
\nItaly is an important diplomatic mission for Pyongyang, as it handles relations with the Rome-headquartered UN Food and Agriculture Organization and North Korea suffers from chronic food shortages.
\nAnother member of the South Korean parliament, Lee Eun-jae, told reporters that the National Intelligence Service (NIS) had confirmed the envoy had sought asylum, but did not appear to know his whereabouts.
\nA source close to the Italian foreign ministry told Media on Thursday the country had \u201cno knowledge\u201d of any asylum request from Jo.
\nThe source said the ministry had simply received a request for the \u201creplacement\u201d of the diplomat, but did not know Jo\u2019s whereabouts, adding that the replacement had arrived in Rome.
\nThe NIS briefing to lawmakers came after South Korea\u2019s JoongAng Ilbo daily reported that Jo had sought asylum in an unidentified Western country with his family.
\n\u201cHe sought asylum early last month,\u201d the JoongAng quoted a diplomatic source in Seoul as saying.
\nItalian authorities were \u201cagonising\u201d over what to do, the official was cited as saying, but added that they were \u201cprotecting him in a safe place\u201d.
\n– \u2018Privileged family\u2019 –
\nJo is \u201cknown to be a son or son-in-law of one of the highest-level officials in the North\u2019s regime\u201d, the JoongAng cited an unnamed North Korea expert as saying.
\nMost North Korean diplomats serving overseas are normally required to leave several family members — typically children — behind in Pyongyang to prevent their defection while working abroad.
\nJo however came to Rome in May 2015 with his wife and children, suggesting he may be from a privileged family, the JoongAng said, adding the reason for his defection bid was still unclear.
\nRelations between the nuclear-armed North and South Korea improved markedly last year after the tensions of 2017, with the two countries\u2019 leaders meeting three times.
\nJo\u2019s defection, if confirmed, would not impact inter-Korean ties, said Koh Yu-hwan, professor of North Korean studies at Dongguk University in Seoul, \u201cunless Pyongyang thinks the escape was arranged by South Korean authorities\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Monitoring desk North Korean \u201cActing ambassador Jo Song Gil\u2019s term was ending in late November last year and he escaped the diplomatic compound in early November\u201d with his wife, lawmaker Kim Min-ki told reporters. Jo, 48, has been acting ambassador in Rome since October 2017 after Italy expelled the then ambassador Mun Jong Nam in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43792","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n