A British daily has reported that money concerns and restrictions on North Korean diplomats' activities abroad amid global sanctions on Pyongyang may have played a role in the defection of a top North Korean diplomat in London. 

The Guardian said Wednesday that Thae Yong-ho, minister at the North Korean Embassy in London, admitted to money worries during a meeting of the Revolutionary Communist Party of Britain in 2013.

The article said that North Korean missions abroad are broke and diplomats are encouraged to use what they call creative methods, including illegal ones, to raise cash. 

Thae was quoted as saying that when he drives out from the embassy, he has to think about congestion charges, which are fees drivers must pay to use roads in central London during daytime hours on weekdays.

According to the report, the diplomat also said that his friends at home have little understanding of how expensive London is. He said they assumed he lives in a palace with a pool and sauna for 12-hundred pounds a month, but in reality, his accommodation is a modest two-bedroom flat.

A separate source also conveyed stories of North Korean diplomats reporting destitution and difficulty in buying daily articles as financial support from the Pyongyang regime has sharply decreased.