South Korean man defects to North Korea, Pyongyang says

July 7 (UPI) -- The son of South Korean politicians who defected to North Korea in 1986 arrived in Pyongyang for resettlement, according to a North Korean propaganda service.

Uriminzokkiri said Sunday Choe In-guk, the second son of former South Korean Foreign Minister Choe Tok-sin, arrived in North Korea on Saturday for "permanent residence."

"To follow the gracious fatherland is the path of guarding the will of the parents, and because this is the righteous way the child has belatedly decided to seek permanent residence in [North Korea]," Uriminzokkiri said.

Choe In-guk's mother, Ryu Mi-yong, was the chairwoman of the central committee of the Chondoist Chongu Party in North Korea. She died of lung cancer in November 2016, according to Yonhap news agency.

Choe Tok-sin served as Seoul's top diplomat in the '70s, but conflicts with President Park Chung hee, the South Korean dictator who ruled the country until his assassination in 1979, compelled him to immigrate to the United States in August 1976.

Choe was a staunch anti-communist, but after leaving South Korea he met with North Korea founder Kim Il Sung several times. He and Ryu eventually defected to North Korea in 1986.

The former South Korean foreign minister went on to hold senior positions in the North Korean government, serving as vice chair of Pyongyang's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland.

Ryu was also politically active, and was serving as a member of North Korea's Supreme People's Assembly at the time of her death.

Choe In-guk's grandfathers on both sides of his family were active with the provisional Korean government-in-exile during the Japanese occupation of the Korean Peninsula.

On Sunday, the South Korean government said it is confirming the report, according to Newsis.

Seoul's unification ministry said it has confirmed Choe did arrive in Pyongyang on Saturday but the details of his visit are under investigation.