South Korea’s spy agency has told officials that North Korea’s ambassador to Italy has gone into hiding.
The announcement follows unconfirmed reports that Pyongyang’s top diplomat in Italy had sought asylum from an unidentified Western country.
Jo Song-gil, the acting North Korean ambassador to Rome, is believed to be the son or son-in-law of one of the highest level officials in North Korea.
The last senior diplomat to defect was the deputy ambassador in London.
Speaking after a briefing from the spy agency on Thursday, Kim Min-ki, a government MP, told reporters that acting ambassador Jo Song-gil’s term was ending in late November last year and he escaped the diplomatic compound in early November.
