Tell North Koreans he’s not a god. Defector wants US to wage information warfare against Kim Jong-un
Thae Yong-ho was chief of mission at Pyongyang’s embassy in Britain until he defected in 2016
A rare high-level defector from North Korea told US lawmakers on Wednesday that disseminating more information in the reclusive country would ultimately be more effective than the billions of dollars being spent to address the military threat.
“We can educate (the) North Korean population to stand up by disseminating outside information,” Thae Yong-ho, chief of mission at Pyongyang’s embassy in Britain until he defected in 2016, said during an appearance at Congress two days before US President Donald Trump’s first trip to Asia since taking office.
Asked what kind of information he was discussing, Thae said background about North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, like his birth date, to convey the idea that he and his family ‘are not gods.” He said South Korean videos, for example were increasingly available within the North.
“The US is spending billions of dollars to cope with the military threat and yet how much does the US spend each year on information activities involving North Korea in a year? Unfortunately, it may be a tiny fraction,” he said.
Thae made his first visit to Washington during rising international tensions over North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missiles programme. The crisis is expected to dominate Trump’s trip to the region, which includes a stop in South Korea.