A report has come out alleging that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un exiled his interpreter, blaming her for the failure of the historic summit with former President Donald Trump.
Thae Yong-ho, a former member of the National Assembly for the ruling People Power Party and now appointed Secretary-General of the National Unification Advisory Council, revealed this information during his appearance on the South Korean media outlet Channel A on July 19.
According to Thae, a former senior North Korean diplomat who later defected to South Korea, the interpreter in question is Shin Hye-young. She served as Kim Jong-un’s interpreter during the summit held in Hanoi, Vietnam, in February 2019.
During the summit, President Trump received Kim’s statements through Shin’s interpretation. However, there were several instances where Trump appeared to misunderstand the translation, leading to the blame being placed on Shin.
“At that time, there were moments when President Trump did not understand. The U.S. interpreter Yung-hyang Lee from the State Department, had to correct the translation several times, explaining to President Trump what was actually meant,” Thae said. “After the summit, Kim said ‘it was a terrible interpretation’ and punished her with ‘exile’ immediately afterward.”
Thae also mentioned that Shin Hye-young, who had been exiled, recently returned to Pyongyang.
Additionally, Thae disclosed that a North Korean diplomat’s daughter, who was stationed overseas, recently defected alone. The diplomat and his wife reportedly informed North Korean authorities about their daughter’s defection and voluntarily returned to North Korea.
Thae did not provide details about the diplomat’s identity or their workplace due to concerns for the family’s safety.
According to recent South Korean media reports, citing government sources, around 20 senior-level North Korean officials have defected from last year to the present. About 10 senior North Korean officials defected last year, and a similar number have defected in just the first half of this year, signaling a potential diplomatic exodus.
Recently, it was revealed that senior-level diplomats, including Ri Il-gyu, the political counselor at the North Korean Embassy in Cuba, as well as diplomats stationed in China and Africa, have defected to South Korea.
Meanwhile, Tae was recently appointed secretary general of a presidential consultative body on unification. This will mark the first time a North Korean defector has been appointed to a vice-ministerial position in the South Korean government.
BY YOUNGNAM KIM [kim.youngnam@koreadaily.com]
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