[INTERVIEW] North Korea's Millennials, Gen Zers could challenge regime: Tae Yong

Tae Yong-ho, former North Korean diplomat and incumbent secretary general of the Peaceful Unification Advisory Council, speaks during an interview with The Korea Times at his office in Seoul, Tuesday. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

High-profile defector hopes his career trajectory will influence NK eliteBy Kwak Yeon-soo

Tae Yong-ho, the former North Korean deputy ambassador to Britain who defected to South Korea in 2016, recently took office as the secretary general of the Peaceful Unification Advisory Council, a presidential advisory body responsible for developing a vision for peaceful unification based on national consensus.

His appointment was notably surprising, as it marks the first time a North Korean defector has been given a vice-ministerial position in South Korea. Tae, who also served as a lawmaker for the ruling People Power Party from 2020 to 2024, expressed hope that his career trajectory will make a significant impact on North Korean elites.

“North Korea's elite cannot help but become agitated by how well defectors, like me, are treated in the South. They will wonder if there is a place and future for them here as well. That is what North Korean leader Kim Jong-un fears the most,” Tae said during an interview with The Korea Times, Tuesday.

In recent years, a growing number of North Korea's elite, including high-level diplomats stationed abroad, have defected to the South. According to the Ministry of Unification, the number of North Korea's elite who defected under Kim Jong-un has more than doubled compared to those who fled under former leader Kim Jong-il. Between 2012 and June 2024, about 134 North Koreans identified as members of the elite defected to South Korea, while only 54 did so between July 1997 and December 2011.

Tae stressed that the reasons behind the so-called “elite” defections have shifted.

“In the past, when I defected to the South, it was the parents who made the decision to flee the country for the sake of their children. But nowadays, children who were raised overseas and learn about South Korean culture through their friends, become disillusioned with the regime and ask their parents to escape,” Tae said.

He explained that North Korean Millennials and Gen Z are driving these changes as they become increasingly exposed to the outside world.

“North Korean Millennials and Gen Z believe there is no future back home. Adults born in the 1990s and 2000s are the generations that can shake up the North Korean regime,” Tae said, adding that a North Korean resident and soldier who defected to the South in August were both in their 20s.

“People born in the ’60s and ’70s have warm memories of a stable regime. They have nostalgia, so even if they watch smuggled copies of South Korean dramas and films, they just feel conflicted. But those born after the ’90s have never actually experienced the good times. In addition, more young adults are becoming tech-savvy and gaining glimpses of the outside world,” Tae said.

Tae explained how President Yoon Suk Yeol’s 8.15 Unification Doctrine charts a new path toward achieving unification compared to previous administrations by emphasizing “change from below.”

“Yoon’s strategy is to communicate directly with North Korean residents and change their perception of the regime. This can pressure the North Korean government and create a new condition for unification.” Tae said.

“One way to stir up the minds of North Koreans is to share success stories of defectors who are earning more than the national average and living their dreams of a bright life in South Korea.”

Police officers control traffic after a trash-carrying balloon sent by North Korea landed in the middle of a road near Chung-Ang University Hospital in Dongjak District, Seoul, July 24. Yonhap

He said North Korea sending trash balloons indicates that the North’s ruling class have begun to understand that the power lies with the people in South Korea.

“At first, North Korea warned the South Korean government to stop rights groups from sending anti-Pyongyang leaflets. But the government refused to do so, saying that a law banning the sending of such leaflets into North Korea is unconstitutional. Now, they’ve come to understand that the power lies with the people, not the leader or the administration. So they changed their tactic to sending trash balloons with an aim of disrupting the daily lives and safety of our citizens,” Tae said.

Tae argued that Kim Jong-un would want former U.S. President Donald Trump to return to the White House. Trump has boasted about his personal ties with Kim, while Vice President Kamala Harris declared she won’t “cozy up to dictators like Kim Jong-un.”

“The only way to be recognized as a nuclear-armed state and get rid of sanctions is for Trump to be re-elected as the next president of the U.S.,” Tae said.

He predicted that the recent upswing in North Korea-Russia relations will expire after the war in Ukraine ends.

“North Korea is benefitting from an arms deal with Russia, but I think that will continue for three to five more years. If Russia no longer needs artillery from North Korea after the war, it won’t cozy up to North Korea like it does today,” Tae said. “That will leave Kim no other choice but to seek closer ties with China again.”

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