Canada has granted political asylum to a former North Korean diplomat.

The Ministry of Public Safety said Thursday that Song Dae Ri was granted a temporary resident permit, which stayed an earlier decision to deport him.

The ministry said Ri's life would be in danger if he was returned to his homeland.

The 37-year-old Ri is now living in Toronto with his six-year-old son, who had already won the right to stay.

Ri worked as a trade official in the North Korean Embassy in Beijing until August 2001, when he fled to Canada with his family. His wife returned voluntarily to the North in December of that year and was reportedly executed four months later.