Defense North Korea: Politics: News: The Hankyoreh

Cho Sung-gil, former deputy ambassador of North Korea to Italy. Deputy Ambassador Cho attended a cultural event held in March 2018 near Treviso in Veneto, Italy. Yunhap news

It was belatedly learned that North Korea’s former ‘deputy ambassador’ to Italy, formerly Cho Sung-gil, whose whereabouts have been unknown since November 2018, entered South Korea last July. On the night of the 6th, Representative Ha Tae-gyeong, Secretary of People’s Power of the National Assembly Intelligence Committee, said, “Former Ambassador Jo Seong-gil entered Korea in July last year and it was discovered that the authorities were reporting it. ” However, the government does not provide any confirmation, whether official or informal, on whether former Deputy Ambassador Cho is going to Korea. This attitude of the government is an extension of the “principle” that does not publicly and officially confirm whether a specific North Korean refugee resides in Korea. Former Deputy Ambassador Cho left the Italian embassy on November 10, 2018, before returning home, and disappeared with his wife. Former Deputy Ambassador Cho’s rank is that of “ first-class secretary, ” but after North Korea’s sixth nuclear test in September 2017, the Italian government expelled the then-ambassador due to UN sanctions and was has served as a “ deputy ambassador ”. The Italian government announced in February last year that the daughter of former Deputy Ambassador Cho was repatriated to North Korea. Many media outlets characterize “Former Ambassador Cho’s Trip to Korea” as “the highest level asylum after Hwang Jang-yeop” or “a major event that will have a great impact on inter-Korean relations”, but it is necessary to consider the facts. First of all, the personality rule of the “highest level asylum after Hwang Jang-yeop” goes against the facts in light of what is already known. In terms of position, former Deputy Ambassador Cho is the number one secretary and ranks lower than Representative Tae Young-ho, who came to Korea after working as a construction company for the British embassy. This is even more true when considering the existence of large numbers of ‘high-level North Koreans’ who do not fully disclose their presence in Korea. “Deputy Ambassador” is not a job title, but a “temporary assignment.” A brilliant source in North Korean diplomacy said on the 7th: “In North Korea, when an ambassador is vacant, the task of ‘temporary deputy ambassador’ is temporarily assigned to the lower ranks.” In principle, the order of the North Korean embassy is of the order of ‘ambassador-corporation-catastrophe-secretary’. “Due to financial circumstances, the North Korean embassy operates with only three or four diplomats, as ‘ambassador-secretary’, without construction and tragedy due to financial circumstances. It’s common, ”said another source. A source noted that “Jo Seong-gil is not a ‘high level’, but just a diplomat,” and said, “If you want to find a difference from other North Korean defectors, you are a ‘formal diplomat belonging to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of North Korea ‘which has few cases in Korea. ” Many point out that the prospect of former Deputy Ambassador Cho’s visit to Korea will have a major impact on inter-Korean relations. Compared with the precedent of Representative Tae Young-ho, there is a clear difference in the actions of the parties and the government. On August 17, 2016, Representative Tae’s entry into South Korea was publicly announced to the media, saying, “It is the highest level among North Korean diplomats who have escaped from North Korea” through a press conference. officer, Unification Ministry spokesman of the Park Geun-hye administration at that time. Representative Tae has also been actively involved in public activities. On the other hand, former Deputy Ambassador Cho has been shutting down both parties and the government for the 15th month since his arrival in July 2019. Former Deputy Ambassador Cho said he did not reveal any appearances to the North Korean defectors society. . His “comprehensive withdrawal” appears to have been prompted by consideration of making North Korean families, including their young daughters repatriated to the north, as little “handicapped” as possible. Former Deputy Ambassador Cho and Representative Tae, “Twenty Years”, told the media that “Jo Seong-gil is from a family of diplomats where both father and father-in-law served as ambassadors.” Experts generally point out that even when the Moon Jae-in administration, which is trying to improve inter-Korean relations, such as three summit meetings in 2018, professes the “ exclusion of absorption and unification, ” there is no reason to use “ Jo Seong-gil to Korea ” for internal political purposes. A former senior official said: “Even if Jo Seong-gil’s trip to Korea is officially confirmed to be true, it will not act as an important variable that will negatively affect inter-Korean relations.” Representative Tae said, “I regret that the related facts are being exposed indiscriminately through the media without Jo Seong-gil’s consent.” ‘Introduction’ was announced on the 7th. Lead Reporter Lee Je-hoon [email protected]