Six North Korean diplomats suspected to have been executed

Former North Korean Foreign Minister, Lee Yong-ho, and five other North Korean diplomats are feared to have been executed in 2022.

The Japanese newspaper Yomiuri reported on this, citing informed North Korean sources.

According to the publication, the North Korean authorities want to prevent the diplomats from escaping the country.

The sources suggested that the diplomats were executed in the summer or autumn of 2022.

Lee Young-ho was North Korea's ambassador to Britain from 2003 to 2007. The other suspected executed diplomats worked alongside Yong-ho at the embassy, according to the newspaper's sources.

The South Korean authorities told the local Yonhap agency that they would attempt to verify the executions through their own channels.

Lee Yong-ho was North Korea's foreign minister from 2016 to 2020. He represented the country in the six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear program in 2011. The diplomat was also involved in consultations with the US during Donald Trump's presidency.