Thae Yong-ho, the North Korean diplomat who sensationally defected from his London embassy to South Korea, has been accused by DPRK state media of having “raped minors,” it emerged on Saturday.

The claim, which is the first official response to his defection by state media, also accused the once deputy ambassador to the UK of stealing money from the state.

“(He) embezzled a lot of the state’s funds and handed over confidential information for money and committed a crime of raping minors,” a translation of the KCNA statement said, which did not refer to Thae by name.

“The DPRK Central