South Korea Completely Silent About Defection of North Korean Ambassador to Italy

This news should not be surprising to anyone following the ideology of the Moon administration:

The alleged defection to South Korea of a ranking North Korean diplomat who went missing in 2018 during his tour of duty in Rome is raising concerns about its impact on inter-Korean relations, which have already hit an all-time low in recent months.

According to a local broadcaster’s report late Tuesday, Jo Song-gil, Pyongyang’s former acting ambassador to Italy, entered South Korea in July 2019 and has settled here under the protection of the authorities. Rep. Ha Tae-keung of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) who serves on the National Assembly Intelligence Committee, confirmed this in a Facebook post later in the day, while ruling Democratic Party of Korea Rep. Jeon Hae-cheol, the chief of the committee, acknowledged it Wednesday.

The National Intelligence Service and other relevant organizations have refused to confirm Jo’s entry into South Korea. However, the media here are highlighting Jo as the rare case of a high-level diplomatic official from the North defecting to the South. Jo is being compared to Rep. Tae Yong-ho of the PPP, who arrived in South Korea with his family in 2016 after serving as a minister at the North Korean Embassy in London. When Jo’s disappearance from Rome made headlines in 2018, Tae publicly called on Jo to join him in South Korea.

It is noticeable that there is a huge difference in Seoul’s reaction to the defection of the two diplomats. In August 2016, the Ministry of Unification officially announced Tae’s arrival. But if reports about Jo are correct, the Moon administration, which has prioritized engagement with North Korea, has been completely silent on him coming to the South. 

Korea Times

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