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The international spread of South Korea's pop culture wave "Hallyu" has played a role in the defection of a senior North Korean diplomat who has arrived in Seoul with his family, according to lawmakers.
Thae Yong-ho, a minister at the North Korean embassy in London, has been under government protection since he defected to South Korea with his wife and two sons in August. Seoul saw his defection as signs of cracks in the impoverished North.
The diplomat told opposition and ruling party legislators in a session arranged by the National Intelligence Service that "disillusionment" with the regime motivated him to find a new life in South Korea.
Thae, 55, said his aspiration for freedom grew by watching South Korean dramas and movies during his long stay abroad, Lee Cheol-woo, who heads the parliamentary intelligence committee, told reporters.
The diplomat was quoted as saying high-ranking North Korean officials live under constant surveillance and wire-tapping even at their homes with frustration growing under the reign of terror by young leader Kim Jong-un.
The career diplomat was one of North Korea's point men on Western Europe, having been educated in China during high school. His stay in London spanned nearly 10 years, during which he has been actively engaged in a campaign to promote North Korea's national image.
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