North Korea's ambassador to Egypt, Mr Jang Sung-Gil, and his actress wife, are trying to defect to a third country, South Korea claimed yesterday. But there were conflicting reports here and in Cairo, where reporters tracing the case were beaten up by North Korean security personnel, as to the whereabouts of Mr Jang and his wife.
If the defection is confirmed, Mr Jang would be the most senior North Korean diplomat to defect.
The Egyptian foreign ministry said it had been told by the North Korean embassy that Mr Jang was missing.
A Seoul TV station claimed Mr Jang, his wife, his elder brother and his brother's two children had "already arrived" in the United States. It also reported a North Korean embassy official in Cairo as saying Mr Jang (48), and his wife, Choe Rye-Ok, were in Pyongyang. Mr Jang has been ambassador to Cairo since November 1994.
Seoul television also quoted Seoul ministry officials as saying Mr Jang had contacted US diplomats in Cairo and sought asylum.
South Korea has been very careful in handling defection cases since Pyongyang's Communist Party secretary, Mr Hwang Jangyop, architect of the North's guiding juche (self-reliance) philosophy, defected to the south through Beijing in February.
That defection sparked a diplomatic crisis for China and came as Seoul and Washington were trying to get Pyongyang to the negotiating table for four-party peace talks.
They succeeded, and the three countries and China held preliminary talks in New York state this month.