Missing NK diplomat's daughter returned to Pyongyang

An entrance to the North Korean Embassy in Rome, Italy, Jan. 3. / Reuters-Yonhap

By Park Ji-won

The daughter of a missing North Korean diplomat who worked in Rome returned to Pyongyang in the middle of November, the Italian foreign ministry announced Wednesday. The foreign ministry received two notices regarding the charge d'affaires in Rome.

"The first ― dated Nov. 20, 2018 ― (North Korea) informed that the position of charge d'affaires in Rome would be assumed by Mr. Kim Chon. The second ― dated Dec. 5, 2018 ― informed that former Charge d'Affaires Jo Song-gil and his wife had left the embassy on Nov. 10 and that their daughter, having expressed the wish to return to her country to stay with her grandparents, had returned there on Nov. 14, accompanied by some of the female staff of the embassy," Italy's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation said on its website.

Based on the statement, whether Jo's daughter was forcefully sent back to Pyongyang remains unknown. North Korean envoy to Rome Jo Song-gil and his wife went missing in November, and a South Korean newspaper reported that they applied for asylum in an unspecified Western country. The whereabouts of Jo's daughter, reportedly a 17-year-old high school student, were unknown back then.

The National Intelligence Service (NIS) reported to the National Assembly's intelligence committee in November about a media report that Jo, who was based in Rome, made a request to the Italian government for protection for the defection. Jo's term was supposed to conclude at the end of November 2018, but he left his official residence early November.

The Italian government's confirmation came after Thae Yong-ho, a former deputy North Korean ambassador to Britain who defected to South Korea in 2016, said on Wednesday that Jo could not take his daughter with him when he escaped.

Thae told The Hankook Ilbo, sister paper of The Korea Times, Wednesday that the North Korean embassy in Italy uncovered Jo's intent and immediately sent his daughter to Pyongyang by plane. "I confirmed it in various ways over the last month."

He was quoted as saying, "North Korea is stepping up punishment against the remaining families of defectors if they defect to the South as they are considered traitors to the North's revolution, while lowering the punishment if they live in the U.S. or Europe."

Thae reportedly said later he could no longer urge Jo to join him after he learnt through his sources that Jo's daughter had been forced to return to North Korea.

Thae last month urged the South Korean government to protect Jo and wrote an open letter asking him to come to Seoul so "they can work together to help the two Koreas' unification."

The Italian government is conducting necessary checks to confirm the forcible repatriation of Jo's daughter, according to media reports.

Italian Foreign Minister Enzo Moavero Milanesi was quoted as saying they are "carrying out the necessary checks" and that his ministry is "following the affair."

Italian Undersecretary Manlio Di Stefano also wrote on Facebook that if forcible repatriation is confirmed, it "would be of unprecedented gravity." He added, "Those responsible for this will pay, you can be sure of that."

Meanwhile, Riccardo Noury, an Amnesty International spokesman in Rome, expressed worries about the case. He said Thursday on Twitter that the Italian authorities must provide clarification.

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