Political tension bubbled in
Rome on Wednesday after reports that the daughter of North
Korea's former envoy to Rome, Jo Song-gil, was taken back to
Pyongyang from Italy by force in November.
The girl's father, Jo Song-gil, had gone missing in November
in an act that was seen as an attempted defection.
The operation to forcibly take the daughter back took place
before she made an attempt to be reunited with her parents,
according to a report by South Korean news agency Yonhap.
"Did North Korean intelligence kidnap the daughter of
Ambassador Jo Song-Gil? Very serious incident," tweeted Maria
Edera Spadoni, a senior MP for the 5-Star Movement (M5S).
Spadoni also called on Deputy Premier and Interior Minister
Matteo Salvini, the leader of the League, the M5S's coalition
partner, to report to parliament on the case "as soon as
possible".
Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Manlio Di Stefano, also an
M5S member, compared the case to that of Alma Shalabayeva, the
wife of Kazakh dissident Mukhtar Ablyazov who was abducted in
Italy in 2013, allegedly with the help of Italian police.
Shalabayeva and her daughter returned to Italy six months
after their controversial deportation, which caused an
international scandal.
"If confirmed, the story of Jo Song-gil and his daughter, who
was kidnapped by the North Korean intelligence in Italy, would
be a case of unheard-of seriousness," said Di Stefano.
"When something similar happened with the Shalabayeva case, I
went directly to Kazakhstan to meet her and see what happened
and we ascertained the direct responsibility of then Interior
Minister (Angelino) Alfano.
"Whoever is responsible will pay, you can be sure of that".
Yonhap said the source for its report was Thae Yong-ho, the
former number two at North Korea's London embassy who took
refuge in Seoul in 2016.
"I don't know how many children Jo had, but the one who was
in Italy was taken back to North Korea," Thae was quoted as
saying.
"Jo is currently with his wife".
ANSA sources said that the daughter is a 17-year-old
high-school student.
Jo started his diplomatic mission to Italy in 2015 and took
over the functions of the ambassador after Ambassador Mun
Jong-nam was expelled in October 2017 following North Korean
nuclear tests.
Foreign Minister Enzo Moavero said he could not comment at
the moment as the ministry was still looking into what happened.
"Afterwards we will draw the appropriate conclusions," he
said.
The Italian foreign ministry issued a statement saying
the North Korean embassy in Italy on December 5 2018 informed
the Italian foreign ministry that former chargé d'affaires Jo
Song Gil and his wife had left the embassy on November 10 and
that their daughter, having asked to return to her grandparents
in her country, returned there on November 14 2018, accompanied
by embassy female staff.
The Italian foreign ministry said it had "no other
information on the affair".
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