SEOUL (AFP): A senior North Korean diplomat who was acting ambassador to Kuwait has defected to the South with his family, reports said Monday (Jan 25).
The diplomats flight could be a sign of elite disillusionment said an earlier defector
25 January 2021 • 4:31pm
North Korea’s acting ambassador to Kuwait reportedly defected with his family to South Korea in 2019, the latest in a series of revelations of escapes by top officials that are expected to infuriate the authoritarian regime.
The secret defection of Ryu Hyun-woo was unveiled on Monday by two sources in the defector community, and raises questions about the loyalty of the country’s elite to the ruling Kim dynasty at a time when the country is beset with crippling financial woes.
Mr Ryu was serving as the embassy’s charge d’affaires after So Chang-sik, the ambassador, was expelled from Kuwait because of a 2017 United Nations resolution aimed at curbing the pariah state’s overseas diplomatic missions.
One of Brazil s most notorious politicians was the subject of a criminal complaint filed on Monday by the country s Jewish.
Tae said Ryu is also the son-in-law of Jon Il Chun, who once oversaw a Worker’s Party bureau responsible for managing the ruling Kim family’s secret coffers, dubbed Room 39.
The National Intelligence Service declined to comment.
Ryu’s defection could be a sign that the North Korean elite who shore up leader Kim Jong Un’s power base has been drifting away from him slowly but constantly, Tae said.
Ryu fled several months after Jo Song Gil, who was North Korea’s acting ambassador to Italy, vanished with his wife from the embassy and resurfaced in South Korea.
Gaon has announced overall chart results for 2020!
On January 8, the yearly digital chart, download chart, streaming chart, and album chart were released for last year.
The results are based on accumulated weekly data since January 2020, so albums and songs released earlier in the year have more weekly scores included in the results.
Digital Charts
Zico’s “Any song” topped the overall digital chart for 2020 and is followed by Changmo’s “METEOR” and Jo Jung Suk’s “Aloha” from the “Hospital Playlist” OST. Jang Beom June’s “Your Shampoo Scent in the Flowers” and IU’s “Blueming” round up the top five. No. 2, No. 4, and No. 5 are all songs from 2019 yet continued to maintain strength in 2020.