Radio Free Asia said Friday that following the high-profile defection of a top North Korean diplomat in London, authorities in Pyongyang are likely to scrap the system of diplomats bringing their families to their overseas duties.

Citing a North Korean diplomatic source, the report said that North Korean diplomats are able to decide to defect because of their accompanying family members.

The source said that North Korean diplomats stationed overseas may not be able to bring their families from now on, a system that began in 2009.

Radio Free Asia said that Thae Yong-ho, minister at the North Korean Embassy in London, has defected to South Korea with his wife and three children. It also said that Kim Cheol-sung, a third secretary at the North Korean Embassy in Moscow, is also believed to have defected with his family early last month.

The report said that Pyongyang could create institutional mechanisms to block the core North Korean elite including overseas diplomats from breaking away. 

Meanwhile, North Korean media have yet to make any statement over diplomat Thae's defection since the news broke three days ago.