Officials in Seoul say the DPRK's deputy ambassador in London has defected with his family to the ROK. 

Thae Yong Ho is the highest-ranking Pyongyang diplomat ever to defect to the South. South Korea's Unification Ministry has declined to say when or how Thae and his family arrived.

The diplomat acted as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's main point of contact for British correspondents traveling to Pyongyang.

Officials at DPRK's embassy in London have not confirmed the defection.