Story highlights It's the highest diplomatic defection from North to South KoreaDiplomat tells South Korean officials he fled for the "future of his family"Seoul (CNN) A senior North Korean diplomat, along with his wife and children, has defected and reached safety in South Korea, making it the highest-level diplomatic defection from the Pyongyang regime in history. Thae Yong Ho, the deputy ambassador of the North Korean embassy in the UK, is under government protection, Jeong Joo-hee, a spokesman for the South Korean Unification Ministry, told reporters Wednesday. "For the future of his family"Thae defected because "he was tired of Kim Jong Un's regime. He respects the democratic system of South Korea and for the sake of the future of his family, he defected," Jeong told reporters.

Source: CNN August 17, 2016 15:00 UTC