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North Korea informed Italy on Wednesday (February 20th) that the daughter of the deposed ambassador Jo Song Gil had been " repatriated " to Pyongyang last November. The girl reportedly wished to return to live with her grandparents, and was escorted by the staff of the North Korean Embassy.
With our correspondent in Seoul, Frédéric Ojardias
Did North Korean agents forcibly take Jo Song Gil's daughter from Rome to Pyongyang? In any case, that seems to suggest the statement of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who says he was informed of the desire of the girl to return to his grandparents in the North. The 17-year-old high school girl was " accompanied " by female staff of the North Korean Embassy on November 14, 2018.
Thae Yong Ho now calls Jo Song Gil not to join Seoul
The repatriation, which comes just days after his parents fled to Rome, is suspect to say the least. It probably explains the silence of Jo Song Gil since his disappearance. Another famous defector, Thae Yong Ho, a former North Korean Vice-Ambassador in London who has been living in Seoul since 2016, asked his compatriot not to come to South Korea. The punishments inflicted on the family members of those who flee to the South are much more serious than for those who choose another country, he warned.
North Korean diplomats are usually forced to leave their children in Pyongyang to avoid defections. But Jo Song Gil, a member of a very senior family, had an exemption.
►Review: The defection of North Korean diplomat Jo Song Gil, a diplomatic jigsaw puzzle