North Korea ambassador to Italy 'disappears', says South

The announcement follows unconfirmed reports that Pyongyang's top diplomat in Italy had sought asylum from an unidentified Western country. Jo Song-gil, the acting North Korean ambassador to Rome, is the son and son-in-law of high-ranking North Korean officials. The last senior diplomat to defect was the deputy ambassador in London.

Speaking after a briefing from the spy agency on Thursday, Kim Min-ki, a government MP, told reporters that Mr Jo fled the Rome embassy more than a month ago. "Acting ambassador Jo Song-gil's term was ending in late November last year and he escaped the diplomatic compound in early November," the MP said.

North Korea ambassador to Italy 'disappears', says South

Hope this doesn't stir things up between the North and South after they just started to normalize relations. It should not effect relations unless the South and/or the US encouraged and helped him defect.

He may be a good source of Intel because it looks like he was in Rome with his wife and children. That is unusual and would suggest that he and his extended family are privileged and influential back home in the North.

Even if a defection did happen don't expect the Italian government to announce it publicly.