Senior N. Korean diplomat has defected to S. Korea from Cuba: Report

A North Korean flag flutters in the wind atop a 160-metre tower in the North's Kijong-dong village near the truce village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone in Paju, South Korea. - AP

SEOUL: A senior North Korean diplomat based in Cuba defected with his wife and child to South Korea in November, South Korean media reports said on Tuesday (July 16), becoming the highest-ranking North Korean diplomat to escape to the South since 2016.

Before fleeing to the South, Ri Il Kyu, 52, was a counsellor at the North Korean embassy in Cuba, major South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo said, citing an interview with Ri. Yonhap News Agency also reported Ri had defected to the South, citing an anonymous government source.