NKorean official flees London for SKorea

By Alex Jensen

SEOUL (AA) – A leading North Korean diplomat has escaped to South Korea, Seoul’s unification ministry confirmed Wednesday, after local reports that Tae Yong-ho had fled his post in London.

The high-ranking Tae is now in the South along with his family, the ministry revealed according to news agency Yonhap.

Tae is known to have worked for years in the British capital promoting North Korea despite the authoritarian state’s reputation for abusing human rights and defying the international community with its development of nuclear weapons.

But the North appears to be having trouble maintaining its trademark grip on supposedly loyal citizens placed overseas.

In addition to this latest case involving Tae, Seoul hailed the defection of 13 North Korean restaurant staff based in China until April as an example of sanctions biting -- Pyongyang was hit by strengthened United Nations punitive measures following its fourth ever nuclear test earlier this year.

An academic and a military officer were among over 800 other North Koreans to flee to the South between January and July, representing a jump of more than 15 percent based on official data.