Former N. Korea diplomat to stay active despite assassination fears
By Kim Rahn
Thae Yong-ho, former North Korean diplomat
Thae Yong-ho, the former North Korean diplomat who fled to South Korea last year, said he would not stop his anti-North Korean activities despite safety concerns following the North’s alleged assassination of its leader Kim Jong-un’s half-brother Kim Jong-nam.
South Korean lawmakers said last week Thae could be the next target, citing information from the National Intelligence Service (NIS).
The NIS reportedly asked Thae recently to suspend public activities, such as participating in forums or giving media interviews.
However, Thae said he won’t stop and will not be afraid of such threats from the North.
“The reports that I will stop all activities because of the fear of assassination are not true,” Thae told YTN.
In the interview with the cable TV network, the former North Korean deputy ambassador to Britain said Kim Jong-un would do anything to prevent more defections. Asked whether Kim Jong-un could kill him as well, he said, “Of course.”
“I decided to dedicate myself to unification. Even if I face sacrifice, I’ll accept it and I’ll keep my way for unification,” Thae said. “If I stop public activities in fear of Kim Jong-un’s reign of terror, it will be a surrender to the reign of terror. Until the two Koreas are unified, I’ll not be afraid of his terrorism and make efforts to topple the Kim regime.”
However, it remains uncertain whether he will visit the U.S. as planned previously. The Asahi Shimbun reported last month that Thae would visit Washington, D.C. in February to talk about North Korean issues with officials of the Donald Trump administration and related experts and call for stricter international sanctions against the Kim Jong-un regime.
Regarding Kim Jong-nam’s murder, Thae said he was not surprised but thought the expected has happened.
“Kim Jong-un has had difficulty in making North Korean people understand he is the only one from the ‘Baekdu’ descent. Kim Jong-nam’s existence may be one reason for it,” he said, adding Kim Jong-nam had no political power but the younger brother has been paranoid.
Thae said high-ranking officials in the North would believe Kim Jong-nam was killed by Kim Jong-un’s order despite the country’s official denial, and they would fear the young leader’s brutality.
However, he said the assassination will negatively affect the regime eventually. “The international community has witnessed Kim Jong-un’s brutality with the CCTV recording of the killing. This will be evidence to prove he is an anti-human criminal and can be used for cases such as suing him with the International Criminal Court.”
Thae said Kim Jong-un will never give up his nuclear weapons because abandoning it will lead to the collapse of his regime. “He will never negotiate if he has to give up nuclear weapons. But negotiation may be possible over a nuclear freeze that stops the North from conducting nuclear tests and related missile launch tests and lifts international sanctions in return.”