North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has reportedly ordered the execution
of those who failed to prevent the high-profile defection of Thae
Yong-ho, a Pyongyang diplomat based in London. Thae, in a dramatic move, defected to South Korea this week along with his family. He is believed to have directly flown to Seoul from London.
In the wake of the recent defections, Kim has dispatched security
agents abroad to monitor the activities of North Korean officials and
business personnel, a source familiar with the matter told Yonhap news agency.
The
unidentified source added that North Korean diplomatic missions abroad
have been given strict instructions not to allow any of the workers to
leave their posts without permission.
"Kim has threatened an immediate pullout of overseas business operations that fail to perform," added the source.
The South Korean unification ministry claimed Thae chose to flee because of disillusionment with the North Korean regime under Kim, who has been tightening his grip on the isolated country in recent years.
Kim's
latest move to further intensify efforts in curbing defections has come
in the wake of other similar incidents. In April, a group of 13 North
Korean workers from a restaurant in China escaped to the South. It was earlier reported that Kim had executed six officials over the defection of the restaurant workers.
Meanwhile, another top North Korean official managing the funds
of Kim in Europe has reportedly disappeared in a mysterious manner. Yonhap
cited South Korean daily Dong-A Ilbo as reporting that the official and
his two sons were under the custody of local authorities in an
unidentified European country.
About 50,000 North Koreans,
including some minors, are estimated to be stationed in various
countries to earn money for Pyongyang. This has recently come under
increasing scrutiny from the international community as they say the
money generated by these workers ultimately ends up funding the North's
missile and nuclear programmes.
0 comments:
Post a Comment