North Korean Defection

[Anchor Lead]

A high-ranking North Korean official who was once in charge of Kim Jong-un's health care sought asylum in Beijing last month and has entered South Korea. Analysts say that the series of defections by high-ranking North Korean officials points to the growing instability in the Stalinist regime.

[Pkg]

In late September a high-ranking official from North Korea's representative office in Beijing, China escaped from his residence at the North Korean embassy along with his family. Sources say the family said they needed political asylum and have already entered South Korea, where they are undergoing an investigation by the relevant authorities. A media source dealing with North Korea has reported that the official used to work for the Ministry of Public Health and that his job title is the equivalent of a "director" in South Korea. The department that the official used to work for oversees the Bonghwa Hospital in Pyongyang, which is used by Kim Jong-un and his family, and the Namsan Hospital, which provides medical services to the regime's elite. This department is regarded as the most powerful within the Health Ministry, as it has access to Kim Jong-un's health secrets. The official's escape comes amid intensified surveillance that was launched after the North Korean deputy ambassador to the U.K., Thae Yong-ho, who was at the forefront of the regime's propaganda, defected back in July. Observers say that the series of defections by North Korea's high-ranking officials may indicate a widespread trend among the North Korean elite.

[Soundbite] Prof. Nam Sung-wook(Korea Univ.) : "The defections of high-ranking officials point to the hopeless future of Kim Jong-un's rule as they shake the very foundation of the North Korean regime. They are expected to have a profound influence on the North Korean public."

An official from South Korea's Foreign Ministry said that more members of the North Korean elite may start escaping from the regime once the international sanctions against the North produce a stronger effect following the crackdown on China's Hongxiang Group.