Ex-N. Korean diplomat named special adviser to Seoul's unification minister

▲ Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho (R) shakes hands with Ko Young-hwan, a former North Korean diplomat-turned-defector, at his office in Seoul on Sept. 6, 2023, after appointing him as a special adviser. (Yonhap)

ex-NK diplomat-unification ministry

Ex-N. Korean diplomat named special adviser to Seoul's unification minister

SEOUL, Sept. 6 (Yonhap) -- Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho on Wednesday appointed a former North Korean diplomat who defected to South Korea as his special adviser, citing his expertise in information analysis on the North.

Ko Young-hwan, who defected to South Korea in 1991, was named as an adviser to Kim on inter-Korean affairs and will play a role in helping people better understand the North's situation, according to Seoul's unification ministry.

"The unification ministry is planning to strengthen its ability to analyze North Korean intelligence and effectively push for the policy on North Korean defectors. In that sense, Ko's appointment will help bolster the ministry's capabilities," Kim said.

Ko is known as the first North Korean diplomat ever to defect to South Korea and has long been working as a research fellow at the state-run Institute for National Security Strategy.

President Yoon Suk Yeol has taken a hard-line stance against the North's provocative acts and has stressed the need to make the international community aware of the dismal human rights situation in the North.

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