North Korea’s former number two diplomat in Cuba describes dramatic defection

Ri Il Gyu, a former political counselor at the North Korean Embassy in Cuba who defected to South Korea last November (Ahn Young-joon/AP)

When Ri Il Gyu, North Korea’s number two diplomat in Cuba, finally decided to flee to South Korea in frustration over his highly repressive, corrupt homeland in November, he finished all necessary prep work alone.

About a week later, he told his family to be ready to leave Cuba together in just six hours.