North Korea calls diplomat defector ‘human scum’SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea said Saturday that a senior North Korean diplomat who recently defected to South Korea is a criminal and “human scum,” in its first official response to the defection. In 1997, the North Korean ambassador to Egypt fled but resettled in the United States. More than 29,000 North Koreans have defected to South Korea since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, according to the South Korean government. In April, 13 North Koreans working at a North Korean-operated restaurant in China defected to South Korea. It was the largest group defection since North Korean leader Kim Jong Un took power in late 2011.

Source: Manila Bulletin August 20, 2016 09:33 UTC