N. Korea defector believed to be 3-time Olympiad silver medalist

By Yi Whan-woo

A North Korean teenager who recently sought asylum at the South Korean consulate in Hong Kong is believed to be a three-time silver medalist at the International Mathematics Olympiad, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported Monday.

The newspaper reported on its website that volunteers for the 57th Olympiad in mid-July were asked to look for Ri Jong-yol after he went missing.

It said Ri was among a team of six North Korean students who competed in the annual math competition at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

Ri won the silver medal this year. He also won the same medal in the 2014 contest in Cape Town, South Africa, and last year’s in Chiang Mai, Thailand, according to the newspaper.

A photo of Ri was circulated on a group chat room for some 100 volunteers but none of them could find him.

The North Korean delegation returned home July 19, three days after the contest ended.

Footage from a surveillance camera, however, later showed a student leaving the campus alone although it has not been confirmed whether the person was Ri.

A string of Hong Kong media outlets reported last week that a North Korean participant at the Olympiad sought asylum at the South Korean consulate in Hong Kong.

On Sunday, security at South Korea’s diplomatic mission at the Far East Finance Centre was tight, with police officers present on standby, the South China Morning Post said.

“The consulate general remained tight-lipped, saying it was the South Korean government’s position that it would not confirm anything about the defector,” it reported.

North Korea finished sixth overall in the contest.

Its delegation was “mostly a quiet pack,” according to the newspaper.

“But some were spotted socializing at a farewell meet-up on the night of July 15 after the closing ceremony,” one of the participants was quoted as saying.