A high-ranking North Korean diplomat stationed in Cuba reportedly defected to South Korea last November.

South Korean daily newspaper the Chosun Ilbo carried an interview with Ri Il-gyu, a former counselor at the North Korean Embassy in the Central American country, in its Tuesday edition.

The newspaper quoted the diplomat as saying that he decided to defect after a senior foreign ministry official demanded bribes from him, and Pyongyang wouldn't allow him to receive medical treatment outside Cuba.

He also reportedly cited "disillusionment with the North Korean regime and a bleak future" as reasons.

Cuba has historically maintained friendly ties with North Korea. But it established diplomatic ties with South Korea in February.

Chosun Ilbo also reported that Ri was tasked with obstructing the establishment of diplomatic relations between Seoul and Havana.

This is the first known case of defection to South Korea by a North Korean diplomat since 2019, when two acting ambassadors, one stationed in Italy and the other in Kuwait, fled to South Korea.