North Korea’s former deputy ambassador to London Thae Yong-ho who defected to South Korea last year has decided to keep a low profile following the assassination of Kim Jong-nam.
 
A government official said Tuesday that the National Intelligence Service(NIS) has decided to tentatively suspend Thae’s public activities for his protection amid fears that he could be the North’s next target following the recent murder of the North Korean leader’s half brother. Thae has canceled or postponed his prescheduled interviews and lectures.
 
An official at the Institute for National Security Strategy, where Thae works as a researcher, said that the NIS usually takes such a step when it has detected specific signs of an assassination order by the North. 
  
Last Wednesday, Bareun Party lawmaker, Ha Tae-keung, warned that two North Korean men have secretly entered the nation to kill North Korean escapees and that Thae could be their number one target.