North Korea’s former deputy ambassador to the UK, who defected to South Korea in 2016, tells CNN he was like « a modern slave. »
That was only heightened in recent years, under the leadership of Kim Jong Un.
« He faced some challenges inside the leadership of North Korea, » Thae explained. « That’s why Kim Jong Un decided to show he is a man with mercilessness — so that everyone should be frightened about him. »
Thae said his sons had « a long dream of freedom, » and wanted to continue their lives outside the yoke of Pyongyang. But « as sons, » he said, they were unable to raise the idea of defecting with their father.
« When they heard my decision then they were very happy, and they really appreciated that I decided to let them free. »
As a diplomat in London, Thae said, he tried to convey truths to Pyongyang — to a point.
« I always report[ed] what was going on in UK and America and around the world, » he told Amanpour. « But whenever I report[ed] those things, I always tried to keep a kind of line of loyalty to the system, and regime. »
Family politics
CNN spoke to Thae’s family in North Korea earlier this year, as part of a government-organized interview.
His sister, Tae Ok Ran, told CNN’s Will Ripley that she wanted to « warn him » that « the whole family won’t forgive him.
