Anchor: Amid concerns that he could be the next target of a North Korean terrorist attack, the former North Korean deputy ambassador to London, Mr. Thae Yong-ho, held an interview with KBS. In the wake of the apparent assassination of the North Korean leader's half brother, Kim Jong-nam, the defector called for referring Kim Jong-un to the International Criminal Court.
Kim Bum-soo has more. 
 
Report: Despite the heightened risk of a terror attack against him, Mr. Thae Yong-ho didn't appear to be intimated.
 
[Sound bite: Thae Yong-ho - former N. Korean deputy ambassador to London (Korean)]
"I am not a person to be daunted or subdued by Kim Jong-un's reign of terror and neglect what I have to do."
 
In an exclusive interview with KBS on Tuesday, former North Korean deputy ambassador to London Thae Yong-ho addressed the recent assassination of the North Korean leader's half brother, Kim Jong-nam. 
 
[Sound bite: Thae Yong-ho - former N. Korean deputy ambassador to London (Korean)]
"He was a living stumbling block to Kim Jong-un. I think that it was the result of his anger and paranoia of Kim Jong-un who hated Kim Jong-nam from childhood."
 
The defector explained that the assassination is due to Kim Jong-un's inferiority complex about the eldest son of the royal "Baekdu bloodline" of North Korea. 
 
Thae said that Kim Jong-nam's son Han-sol and late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's half brother, North Korean Ambassador to the Czech Republic Kim Pyong-il, can also be targeted if they are deemed as threats to the Kim Jong-un regime. He added, however, that the reign of terror is pushing the regime into a corner.
 
[Sound bite: Thae Yong-ho - former N. Korean deputy ambassador to London (Korean)]
"I am confident that the North Korean elites and people will turn their backs on Kim Jong-un to break down the regime."
 
The former North Korean diplomat to London said that the fourth suspect arrested over the assassination, Ri Jong-chol, came from a secret North Korean agency and there were North Korean agents like Ri in the U.K. as well.
 
[Sound bite: Thae Yong-ho - former N. Korean deputy ambassador to London (Korean)]
"It is impossible that a North Korean gets a fake job in a foreign company and brings their family [with him] unless he is from the reconnaissance general bureau(RGB) or other special organization. There are North Koreans on a similar status as Ri Jong-chol in the U.K." 
 
He also noted that the remarks by the North Korean ambassador to Malaysia were the result of Kim Jong-un's instructions through Pyongyang's foreign ministry.
 
[Sound bite: Thae Yong-ho - former N. Korean deputy ambassador to London (Korean)]
“What Ambassador Kang Chol said, word for word, cannot have been issued by the foreign ministry alone. It's coming from Kim Jong-un's instructions."
 
He called for referring the North Korean dictator to the International Criminal Court.
 
[Sound bite: Thae Yong-ho - former N. Korean deputy ambassador to London (Korean)]
"The entire world has seen dying Kim Jong-nam in video footage. It is meaningful that significant evidence has been secured to refer Kim Jong-un to the International Criminal Court as a murderer."
 
Amid concerns that he could be the next target of a terrorist attack after his defection to the South last year, Thae told KBS that he will continue his activities to facilitate the collapse of the North Korean regime.
Kim Bum-soo, KBS World Radio News.

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