A high-profile North Korean defector who spent three decades raising money for the North Korean regime has appeared in the U.S. media.
 
Ri Jong-ho, who fled the North in 2014, said in an interview with CNN on Thursday that he decided to leave his country after watching the regime kill high-level officials, their families and even their children. He said that thousands of people were being executed or purged throughout the year.
 
Ri told CNN that the final straw came in late 2013, when Kim executed his own uncle Jang Song-thaek with an antiaircraft gun.
 
Ri’s comment marked the first time for a high-profile North Korean official, and not a South Korean organization handling North Korea issues, to confirm the ruthless executions carried out by the reclusive North Korean leader.
 
Ri, who was a close aide of Jang, had earlier told a South Korean expert on North Korea that he had witnessed Kim execute his secretary after framing her for being involved with Jang.
 
Ri also told CNN that there’s no knowing what Kim will do if he’s driven into a corner. He said the North has a scenario of immediately using nuclear and chemical weapons on the South should a war break out on the Korean Peninsula.
 
The defector also projected that Kim will maintain power for decades unless he faces a shock from outside.
 
Ri did say, however, that if the North’s mineral exports decrease due to tighter international sanctions, the North Korean regime could be shaken. 

Ri said he worked for decades in what's known as "Office 39" of the North's ruling Workers' Party. The office is in charge of bringing in slush fund for the leader and the leadership.

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