High Ranking North Korean Diplomat Defects to South Korea

— -- A high-ranking North Korean diplomat has defected to South Korea, the Ministry of Unification in Seoul confirmed today.

Thae Yong Ho was the deputy ambassador at the North Korean embassy in London. His defection was announced in a press conference by Jeong Joon Hee, a spokesman at the South Korean Ministry of Unification.

Thae, 55, has become the highest-ranking Pyongyang diplomat to flee the communist nation for the South. He is now reportedly in South Korean territory with his family.

"This case shows that North Korean elites view that there is no hope in their country," Jeong said, according to Yonhap News. "It also indicates that North Korea's regime's internal solidarity is weakening."

Yonhap News reported that Thae was previously known to have sought asylum in a third country. He is now under the protection of the South Korean government.

ABC News' Joohee Cho contributed to this report.