Italy says North Korea will have to pay the price if it repatriated the daughter of a missing North Korean diplomat against her will.

Manlio Di Stefano, undersecretary of the Italian Foreign Ministry, responded on Facebook to claims the daughter of the North’s former acting ambassador to Rome, Jo Song-gil, was abducted by the North after he went missing, presumably to seek asylum in an unspecified country. 

Thae Yong-ho, North Korea's former deputy ambassador to London who defected to the South, made the argument that Jo was unable to leave Italy with his daughter and the North summoned her back to the North. 

Di Stefano said if confirmed, it would be “of unprecedented gravity," and warned those responsible for the incident will pay. 

He said Italy should have protected Jo’s daughter, arguing she “risks being tortured by one of the worst regimes in the world.”

On Wednesday, the Italian Foreign Ministry said in a statement they had been informed by North Korea on December fifth that Jo and his wife had left the embassy on November tenth and their daughter had been repatriated back to the North on November 14th.

North Korea reportedly informed Italy the girl had asked to return home to be with her grandparents and was accompanied by female staff from the North Korean embassy.

[Photo : YONHAP News]