Thae Yong Ho, the senior North Korean diplomat who defected to the South with his family in August, will begin public activities starting this Friday. The announcement has drawn a great deal of attention from the North Korean human rights community in Seoul.
On Monday, Rep. Lee Cheol Woo (head of the Parliamentary Intelligence Committee) was briefed by Seoul’s National Intelligence Service and told reporters that after spending approximately two decades abroad, Thae learned about South Korea’s democracy and economic development through foreign media sources, which instilled in him a desire to experience liberal democracy and inspired him to defect and save his sons from a “life of slavery” under Kim Jong Un’s totalitarian system.
The lawmaker added that despite the risk to his personal safety, Thae vowed to engage in public activities in South Korea and expressed his desire to work toward inter-Korean unification. Multiple sources have suggested that Thae plans to work at the Institute for National Security Strategy.
Lee Soo Seok, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Strategy, said, “Just the mere fact that a core elite of Kim Jong Un’s power circle has defected to South Korea and is speaking out against the government is enough to send shockwaves through the elite ranks. This could erode loyalty for the leadership among elites and create cracks in the regime’s grip on power.”
He added that it is especially poignant given that Thae Yong Ho’s status guaranteed him a privileged future provided by the regime and yet he still chose to defect. This will have a greater impact on North Korean residents when Thae begins speaking out against the regime.
There is also much interest surrounding the covert information to which Mr. Thae would have been privy as a core elite and trusted diplomatic official, carrying important details about the way North Korea acquires its leadership funds.
Amid ongoing analysis of Kim Jong Un’s consolidation of power entering his fifth year at the helm, further attention will be given to Thae’s insights on the current situation and outlook for the future.
A source who served as an advisor to Workers’ Party Secretary Hwang Jang Yop, the highest-ranking defector to date, told Daily NK on condition of anonymity, “Someone of Thae Yong Ho’s status would have considerable insight into the inner workings of the regime. If Thae moves ahead by being personally involved in human rights advocacy, he will be helpful in shedding light on the inner workings of the regime, as well as for devising realistic strategies to transform it.”
Others hope that Thae’s efforts will prompt the South Korean government to take a more active role in preparing for unification of the two Koreas and galvanize collaborative efforts.
“Secretary Hwang was able to provide testimony and insights into the world of Kim Jong Il’s regime, about which little was previously known; however, citing political susceptibilities, Hwang Jang Yop’s North Korean human rights activism vis-a-vis the government ground to a halt, pouring cold water on his desire to realize democracy,” the former advisor said. “This decision was a woefully misguided one, given that only more human rights oppression and rapid nuclear weapons development followed.”
“The government should pay special attention to high-ranking defectors, regarding them as valuable counterparts to lay the groundwork for unification and work with them closely. These figures must be active and visible in South Korean society to lend bravery to their counterparts in the North and foster in them a thirst for human rights and freedom,” the source added.
Among members of the defector community, the very notion of Mr. Thae launching forth with international efforts toward North Korean human rights activism has been labeled ‘welcome’ and ‘inspiring.’
“I was deeply moved by Thae Yong Ho’s vow to engage in public activities [here] and his desire to work for unification. Nobody would know the realities of the regime better than someone hailing from the highest echelons of its power. He should be at the forefront of efforts to share the inner workings of the North Korean regime, due to his firsthand experience,” said So Jae Pyong, secretary-general of the North Korean Defectors Association.
Mr. So also stressed the need for Mr. Thae to convene and collaborate with the 30,000 defectors who have settled in South Korea before him, noting the magnified impact such an effort would have on North Korean human rights advocacy.
