Trump win would be once-in-a-thousand year opportunity for North Korea, defector says

Donald Trump being re-elected would be a “ once-in-a-lifetime opportunity ” for North Korea , a high-profile defector has warned.

Former diplomat Ri Il Kyu, who fled his Cuba posting in November last year, said Kim Jong-un would use Trump to seek a deal over its nuclear weapons programme .

Mr Ri said Pyongyang would seek a deal in return for the US lifting sanctions on its economy - which was shattered by the pandemic.

But any agreement would be “a ploy, 100 per cent deception”, Mr Ri said. He added it was a “dangerous approach” that would only strengthen North Korea.

Mr Trump has previously hailed the relationship with Kim as a key achievement of his presidency. He famously said the two “fell in love” exchanging letters.

Just last month, he told a rally Kim would like to see him back in office: “I think he misses me, if you want to know the truth.”

Mr Ri also said North Korea’s recent strengthening of ties with Russia was not likely to last and Pyongyang was aware the relationship would likely deteriorate after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine comes to an end.

He said the main benefit Russia’s need for ammunition for the war in Ukraine, was that in return for providing it, Pyongyang can keep developing its own satellite and weapon technology, with Russian insight.

But Mr Ri said Kim understood the relationship was temporary and that after the war, Russia was likely to sever relations.

“North Korea understands that the only path to its survival, the only way to eliminate the threat of invasion and develop its economy, is to normalise relations with the United States,” he told the BBC.

Speaking about Kim, the former diplomat said he was left “shaking with nerves” the first time he met the leader.

However, he said the leader was often “smiling and in a good mood” and seemed like an ordinary person, but his deification had turned him into a “monstrous being” capable of killing all 25 million North Koreans.

“He could have been a wonderful person and father, but turning him into a god has made him a monstrous being,” Mr Ri, who resettled in Seoul, South Korea, said.

As a diplomat in Cuba, Mr Ri made just $500 (£294) a month and so would sell Cuban cigars illegally in China to make enough to support his family.

When he first told his wife about his desire to defect, she was so disturbed she ended up in hospital with heart problems. After that, he kept his plans secret, only sharing them with her and his child six hours before their plane was due to depart.