Is it inevitable that people will defect to North Korea if they learn about the situation overseas? North Korean ”elites” defect one after another

It has been revealed that a North Korean diplomat stationed in Cuba defected to South Korea in November last year. South Korean media reported on the 16th of this month. Ri Il-gi, known as a "Cuba expert,"
The North Korean diplomat defected in 2012, when North Korea came under the Kim Jong Eun regime, according to official sources.
Ri is the fourth person to defect since then. In August 2016, Thae Yong-ho, who served as the second envoy at the North Korean Embassy in the UK, defected to South Korea. At the time, the South Korean media was surprised by this.
The acting ambassador to Italy defected to South Korea in July 2019, and the acting ambassador to Kuwait defected to South Korea in September of the same year. South Korea's Yonhap News Agency pointed out that there has been a succession of defections of elite diplomats from North Korea.
"The view is that this is a sign that the number of elites who are disgusted with the Kim Jong Un regime is increasing," the report said. The news of Ri's defection was revealed in an interview with Ri by the South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo on the 16th of this month.
The article was published in the journal Proceedings of the National People's Congress. Ri has served twice in Cuba, a longtime ally of North Korea. He is a member of the African, Arab and Latin American Affairs Department of the North Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
He is considered an obvious "South America expert." In 2013, he was in charge of negotiations with the Panamanian side when a North Korean cargo ship loaded with missiles and other weapons was seized while passing through the Panama Canal.
He was even commended by Kim for leading the release of the crew members. In February of this year, South Korea announced the establishment of diplomatic relations with Cuba, a traditional friendly country of North Korea. For South Korea, Cuba is
It was the only Latin American country with which South Korea did not have diplomatic relations. In order to establish diplomatic relations with Cuba, South Korea was reportedly working behind the scenes to avoid North Korea's obstruction.
When announcing the establishment of diplomatic relations with Cuba, he pointed out that this was an important turning point in strengthening diplomacy with Latin America.
He emphasized that the two countries will "strengthen the relationship," and explained that "we will build an institutional foundation for expanding economic cooperation between the two countries and supporting the expansion of Korean companies." However, for North Korea, this has meant that its diplomatic foundation has been undermined.
Perhaps this is why, in May of this year, North Korea's Korean Central News Agency and other domestic media, when introducing countries that had sent messages on the birthday of the late Chairman Kim Il Sung, made no mention of Cuba.
Meanwhile, Cuba sent a congratulatory message to Kim on his birthday, as it does every year. At the time, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency commented that North Korea's response "may have been intentional."
According to the Chosun Ilbo, the defector Ri was in charge of blocking diplomatic relations between South Korea and Cuba at the Embassy in Cuba. Ri cited a lack of job evaluation as one of the reasons for his defection.
The North Korean Foreign Ministry has cited a dispute over the matter, and the establishment of diplomatic ties between South Korea and Cuba may have led to his defection. Ri entered South Korea in November last year with his wife and children.
He explained to View, "I started thinking about defecting because I was disgusted by the North Korean regime, had a bleak future, and wanted to get out of that society."
"I think that all of us want to live in Korea. When I think about my children's future, I believe that unification (with Korea) is the only option," he said.
In August 2016, Thae Yong-ho, who served as the second envoy at the North Korean Embassy in the UK, defected from North Korea. In 2019, he was stationed in Italy.
Cho Song-gil, who served as the acting ambassador, and Ryu Hyun-Woo, who served as the acting ambassador to Kuwait, defected from North Korea and entered South Korea. If people realize the superiority of the free democratic system abroad, it is natural that they would want to defect.
Yonhap News Agency explained that "diplomats working overseas are more likely to defect than North Korean elites."
In addition, South Korea's public broadcaster KBS said, "In the past few years since the COVID-19 pandemic ended, North Korea has been stationed overseas.
"Against the backdrop of the change in officials, there has been a succession of defections by North Korean elites who were stationed around the world," he said. According to a summary by the South Korean Ministry of Unification, the number of elite defectors last year was about 10.
The increase was the highest since 2017.