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POLITICS

North Korean diplomat goes into hiding and ‘seeks asylum in Italy’

North Korea's top diplomat in Rome is reportedly seeking asylum after going into hiding with his family, in another high-profile defection bid by one of Pyongyang's envoys.

Italian authorities have been “agonising” over what to do, an official in Seoul was cited as saying, but added that they were “protecting him in a safe place”

“Acting ambassador Jo Song Gil's term was ending in late November last year and he escaped the diplomatic compound in early November” with his wife Kim Min-ki, the Seoul lawmaker told reporters after a closed-door meeting with South Korean intelligence officials this morning.

The spy agency briefing to lawmakers came after South Korea's JoongAng Ilbo daily reported that Jo had sought asylum in an unidentified Western country with his family.

“He sought asylum early last month,” the JoongAng quoted a diplomatic source in Seoul as saying.

However, a source at the Italian foreign ministry told AFP this morning they were “not aware” of the asylum request.

The last senior North Korean diplomat to defect was Thae Yong Ho, who abandoned his post as deputy ambassador in London in 2016.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un making a New Year’s Day speech on Tuesday. Photo: Jung Yeon-je / AFP

Jo, 48, has been acting ambassador in Rome since October 2017 after Italy expelled the then ambassador Mun Jong Nam in protest at a nuclear test by the North a month earlier in violation of UN resolutions.

Italy is an important diplomatic mission for Pyongyang, as it handles relations with the Rome-headquartered UN Food and Agriculture Organization and North Korea suffers from chronic food shortages.

Jo is “known to be a son or son-in-law of one of the highest-level officials in the North's regime”, the JoongAng cited an unnamed North Korea expert as saying.

Most North Korean diplomats serving overseas are normally required to leave several family members — typically children — behind in Pyongyang to prevent their defection while working abroad.

Jo however came to Rome in May 2015 with his wife and children, suggesting he may be from a privileged family, the JoongAng said, adding the reason for his defection bid was still unclear.

At the time of his own defection Thae, the former deputy ambassador to London, said he had switched sides partly to give his three children a better future after being ordered to return to the North.

The Kim dynasty has ruled the impoverished but nuclear-armed state for three generations with little tolerance for dissent, and the regime stands accused of widespread human rights abuses.

Italy's current interior minister and deputy prime minister, Matteo Salvini, was criticised in 2014 for praising North Korea after a visit to the country, where he likened life under dictator Kim Jong-un to a bygone era in Italy.

READ ALSO: Italy orders North Korea ambassador home over missiles

 

TERRORISM

Italy on maximum terror alert over Easter after Moscow attack

Italy was to increase surveillance in busy areas ahead of the Easter holidays and following the bombing of a Moscow concert hall, ministers agreed on Monday.

Italy on maximum terror alert over Easter after Moscow attack

Italy’s national committee for public security, chaired by Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi, on Monday said anti-terrorism monitoring in Italy must be strengthened ahead of the Easter holidays, with more surveillance to be carried out at popular tourist spots and at “sensitive sites”.

The committee agreed on “the importance of continuing monitoring activity, including online, by police and intelligence forces for the identification of possible risk situations” in Italy, reported news agency Ansa.

The security meeting was convened following the terrorist attack in Moscow on Friday where armed men opened fire and set the building ablaze, killing at least 133 people.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani had stressed to the public on Sunday that Italy faced “no concrete risk” and said the country’s security and law enforcement services were “always on the alert to prevent any attack.”

“During the Easter holidays you will need to be very careful. We will always do the utmost to ensure the safety of citizens and tourists,” Tajani said, speaking on national broadcaster Rai’s current affairs show Restart.

READ ALSO: Terror alerts: Should I be worried about travelling to Italy?

The fight against terrorism “has nothing to do with the war in Ukraine,” the minister continued.

“We support Ukraine” as an invaded country in which international law has been violated, he said, “but as the Italian government we have expressed our condemnation of the attack [in Moscow] and closeness to the families of the victims and the survivors”.

Cabinet Secretary Alfredo Mantovano said on the same programme that the main terrorist threat Italy faced at the moment was mainly from “lone wolves” and “not so much from organised groups.”

“I believe that a group like the one that acted in the Moscow attack, which must have been trained and had logistical support, would be intercepted sooner in Italy,” he said.

“The most worrying threat” in Italy was online recruitment, he said, noting that propaganda was closely monitored.

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