Book review: An ex-North Korean diplomat pulls back the curtain on the regime



Evergreen Book review: An ex-North Korean diplomat pulls back the curtain on the regime Ri Il Gyu’s memoir recounts DPRK’s goals in Latin America and raises alarm about Pyongyang’s strategy toward Japan Stephen Mercado November 13, 2025 SHARE COPY LINK FACEBOOK X LINKEDIN MASTODON Images: Unification ministry’s UNITV channel, Cuban Presidential Office, edited by NK News One of the highest-ranking North Korean officials to defect in recent years has written an illuminating memoir about his life and diplomatic career, pulling back the curtain on Pyongyang’s foreign ministry and special operations in Latin America. In “The Kim Jong Un That I Saw: The Memoir of a Diplomat Who Defected from North Korea” (私が見た金正恩：北朝鮮亡命外交官の手記), Ri Il Gyu writes about his years as a political counselor at the DPRK Embassy in Cuba, as well as his high-profile escape in Nov. 2023. While he has shared many of the details in interviews and talks since resettling in South Korea, his © Korea Risk Group. All rights reserved. No part of this content may be reproduced, distributed, or used for commercial purposes without prior written permission from Korea Risk Group. Get the Daily Update Start your day with the North Korea stories that matter most – as selected by Trending

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Book review: An ex-North Korean diplomat pulls back the curtain on the regime

Ri Il Gyu’s memoir recounts DPRK’s goals in Latin America and raises alarm about Pyongyang’s strategy toward Japan

Stephen Mercado November 13, 2025

Book review: An ex-North Korean diplomat pulls back the curtain on the regime

Images: Unification ministry’s UNITV channel, Cuban Presidential Office, edited by NK News

One of the highest-ranking North Korean officials to defect in recent years has written an illuminating memoir about his life and diplomatic career, pulling back the curtain on Pyongyang’s foreign ministry and special operations in Latin America.

In “The Kim Jong Un That I Saw: The Memoir of a Diplomat Who Defected from North Korea” (私が見た金正恩：北朝鮮亡命外交官の手記), Ri Il Gyu writes about his years as a political counselor at the DPRK Embassy in Cuba, as well as his high-profile escape in Nov. 2023.

While he has shared many of the details in interviews and talks since resettling in South Korea, his

About the Author

Stephen Mercado

Stephen Mercado is a retired officer of the CIA’s Open Source Enterprise (originally the Foreign Broadcast Information Service). A researcher primarily interested in Japanese intelligence history and Asian open-source intelligence, he earned a master’s degree in international affairs at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. He is the author of "Japanese Spy Gear and Special Weapons: How Noborito's Scientists and Technicians Served in the Second World War and the Cold War" (Pen & Sword Military, 2025), "The Shadow Warriors of Nakano: A History of the Imperial Japanese Army’s Elite Intelligence School" (Brassey’s, 2002), a dozen articles and several dozen book reviews.

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