A ranking North Korean embassy official in Beijing has defected, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency said Wednesday, while a separate report suggested two embassy staff had sought asylum with the Japanese mission there.

If confirmed, it would mark the latest in a recent series of high-profile North Korean defections that some observers see as a sign of growing instability within the leadership in Pyongyang.

Yonhap, quoting an anonymous source “familiar with Pyongyang affairs,” said the official — stationed in the Beijing embassy but attached to the North Korean Health Ministry — had disappeared with his family in late September.

The source said the official was responsible for sourcing medical supplies for a clinic in Pyongyang that caters to North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un and his family.

South Korea’s Unification Ministry, which has a general policy of not commenting on defections, especially by senior officials, said it was unable to confirm the report.

Source: AFP