North Korea's Top Diplomat In Italy Has Defected

FOX News: North Korea's top diplomat in Italy defected, embarrassing Kim Jong Un

North Korea’s acting ambassador to Italy defected with his wife in November, South Korea’s spy agency told lawmakers Thursday, striking an embarrassing blow to leader Kim Jong Un and his communist regime.

Jo Song Gil, 48, and his wife left the official residence in early November, weeks before his term was set to end, an official from Seoul’s National Intelligence Service said, according to South Korean lawmaker Kim Min-ki.

He was the acting ambassador in Rome since Oct. 2017, after the Italian government expelled the now-former ambassador Mun Jong Nam in retaliation for a nuclear test by North Korea that year, the AFP reported.

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More News On North Korea's Top Diplomat In Italy Defecting

North Korean diplomat vanishes, reportedly seeks asylum in West -- NBC/AP
North Korean diplomat in Italy 'seeking asylum' -- AFP
South Korean spy agency: North Korean diplomat has gone into hiding -- The Hill
North Korean ambassador to Italy seeks asylum: reports -- DW
North Korea's envoy in Italy 'in hiding': South Korean MP -- Al Jazeera
North Korean Diplomat In Italy Goes Into Hiding, Says Intelligence Agency -- NPR
North Korea’s defecting ambassador an intelligence gold mine -- Asia Times

Members of North Korean cheering squad arrive at a hotel in Inje, South Korea, February 7, 2018. Yonhap via REUTERS

Nick Pachelli, Esquire: What Happens If a North Korean Olympic Athlete Tries to Defect?

The games in Pyeongchang could be a geopolitical mess.

This past week in Pyeongchang, the press has been chasing the 22 North Korean athletes ahead of Opening Ceremonies on Friday night. The South Korean media, in particular has been relentless: pestering the North Koreans, studying their every move, taking pictures with trained high-powered lenses in every public space imaginable. The questions are benign, and they get no response, just disciplined smiles. Although a coach did say, “I’m happy we have been welcomed this way,” and a figure skater said she felt "Good."

It is a historic, albeit frenzied, moment. The last time South Korea hosted the Olympics, in 1988, North Korea bombed a Korean Air plane in protest of not being able to co-host the games. Now, the 280-person contingent is the largest group to cross the demilitarized zone in decades.

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WNU Editor: I would be shocked if a North Korean athlete defects. In a Stalinist type of regime where control is paramount .... these athletes are weaned with loyalty to the state being the number one requirement. And they are carefully selected with repercussions to all (the families, the ones who screened them,  superiors, etc.) if they fail in their job.

North Korean Soldier Was Drunk When He Drove His Jeep When He Crossed The DMZ

Newsweek: North Korean Soldier Was Drunk Before Driving Jeep Across Border in Unplanned Defection, Seoul’s Spies Say

The South Korean spy agency suspect that a North Korean soldier’s dramatic defection in November may not have been not the result of careful planning and deliberation, but instead an impulsive, and possibly drunken, decision.

The National Intelligence Service briefed the South Korean National Assembly’s intelligence committee on Thursday, reporting on the investigation into defector Oh Chung Sung’s motives for crossing the border one cloudy November afternoon, after identifying him as the son of a Korean People’s Army colonel.

Rumors that Oh killed someone in some sort of accident before he escaped were reported in South Korean media earlier this week, but intelligence officials dismissed the possibility the soldier committed a murder, the newspaper Chosun Ilbo reported. Instead, they believe he may have crossed the inter-Korean border after causing a traffic accident while driving drunk and while fearing repercussions for his actions.

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Update: The North Korean defector who escaped after being shot had reportedly been in a drunk-driving accident (Business Insider)

WNU Editor: I guess the booze gave him the courage to defect.

Brother Of Disgraced Chinese Presidential Aide Ling Jihua Defects To The US With State Secrets

Chinese businessman Ling Wancheng (left) is the brother of Ling Jihua, the one-time chief of staff of former president Hu Jintao. Photos: SCMP, Reuters

South China Morning Post: Telling tales: brother of disgraced Chinese presidential aide Ling Jihua defects to US and reveals state secrets, says report

American news website Washington Free Beacon also claims undercover mainland agents in the US have been trying to capture or kill Ling Wancheng, who has been hiding in the country.

The younger brother of the disgraced former Chinese presidential aide Ling Jihua has reportedly defected to the United States and revealed some of the mainland’s most confidential intelligence to the American government.

The American news website Washington Free Beacon also reported that undercover Chinese agents in the US had been trying to capture or kill Ling Wancheng, who has been hiding in the country.

Ling Wancheng had revealed secrets involving procedures for Chinese leaders when using nuclear weapons, including the release codes for nuclear armaments and steps taken in preparing nuclear forces for attack, the report said.

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Update: Chinese Defector Reveals Beijing’s Secrets (Washington Free Beacon)

WNU Editor: This story first broke out in 2014 .... The US may be about to score a huge intelligence victory over China (Business Insider). What's my take .... it is definitely a big defection .... especially if he gave U.S. intelligence information on what are the procedures that Chinese leaders must follow when it comes to using nuclear weapons.

Life Is Not Good For An Ex-Russian FSB Agent Who Decided To Defect To The FBI

Portland, Oregon

Chris McGreal, The Guardian: Russian defectors living the dead end of the American dream in distant Oregon

For Janosh and Victorya, who in Russia lived as a former bag man for a Moscow bank and an FSB agent, the dream of a life as defectors has been plagued by spats with the FBI, and an unexpected life in a city they’d never heard of

The Russian who now goes by the name of Janosh Neumann had a clear plan for how things would unfold once he crossed the threshold of the US embassy on the Caribbean island he chose as his hideout.

Neumann would offer the CIA chapter and verse about his years as a Russian intelligence officer and his work after that as a bag man for a Moscow bank specialising in money laundering. He would lay bare the intricate web of ties between Russia’s security service, the FSB, organised crime and Moscow banks. He would name names.

Neumann also knew he would have to frankly admit he too was on the take, accepting bribes and his cut of illegal deals.

Update: Former Russian spy who defected describes what it's like to be broke and living in Oregon -- Business Insider

WNU Editor: My family, friends, and associates in Russia always asked me the same question about life in the West .... is it easy to live well in the West .... and how well do you (I) live. Sighhhh .... I tell them the truth .... you can live well but life is hard and you must be willing to sacrifice, work hard, work long hours, save, be prepared for tough times, and be prepared to be disappointed. Unfortunately .... when I say this everyone's eyes "blank over" .... yup .... the perception is different "over there" .... the general belief is that U.S. life is easy, money is easy, and (for Aleksey Artamonov) the U.S. government will be willing to give you tons of it if you are a so-so FSB agent with a murky past and who is willing to defect. I have only one word to say to that .... idiots. And my advice to Aleksey Artamonov and his wife is simple .... take any job, get another one, work 100 hours a week, save, and (maybe) in 5 years buy a  car (with cash), and maybe 5 years after that buy a home with a decent mortgage, and maybe ten years after that buy a country home in the woods.