South Korea appoints North Korean defector as head of unification council

By Anadolu staff

South Korea President Yoon Suk Yeol has appointed a North Korean defector as head of the presidential advisory council on unification, the country's presidential office said on Thursday.

Tae Yong-ho, a former North Korean deputy ambassador to Britain, who fled to South Korea in 2016, has been appointed as the secretary general for the Peaceful Unification Advisory Council, Yonhap News Agency reported, quoting chief of staff Chung Jin-suk.

Tae is the first North Korean defector to serve in a deputy ministerial post since the council was established in 1980.

Tae was also elected as a lawmaker of the ruling People Power Party from district of Gangnam in Seoul in 2020. However, he lost election in April and failed to secure his seat in the parliamentary elections.

*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid