South Korea will quadruple the cash reward it offers to defectors from North Korea who pass over classified information about the reclusive state, reports said on Sunday.



The government currently offers up to $217,000 to defectors from the north with sensitive information about the state and its regime.

It is now offering $860,000 (£700,000), the first increase in reward money in two decades.

The rewards would go to “people who provide intelligence and knowledge that can enhance South Korea’s security”, the Yonhap news agency reported.



The sums paid would be determined on the basis of the importance of the intelligence, Yonhap said. Other amounts would be given to soldiers who defected with weapons.

The cash incentive is aimed at encouraging more members of the north’s elite to flee to the south, it added.

“One of the biggest reasons why North Koreans are hesitant about defecting is because they are fearful of [how they would make a living] after they come to South Korea,” Yonhap cited a ministry official as saying.

Thae Yong-ho, the former North Korean deputy ambassador to the UK who defected last August. Photograph: Ed Jones/AP

High-profile defectors have served as a vital source of intelligence about the Pyongyang government over the years.



Last August, North Korea’s former deputy ambassador to Britain Thae Yong-ho became one of the highest-ranking defectors.

He has vowed to raise awareness about the “gruesome realities” of his country.

Analysts say Thae may have invaluable information about the secretive regime of Kim Jong-un, who has been in power since 2011. Since defecting, he is likely to have been grilled by foreign intelligence agencies over Kim’s leadership, the mood among North Korea’s ruling elite and the fate of senior members of the last government, some of whom have been purged and executed.

The move follows the killing of the North Korean leader’s estranged half-brother at Kuala Lumpur airport in Malaysia in February.

Kim Jong-nam, 48, was exposed to the super-toxic VX nerve agent that killed him within minutes. Malaysian police have issued an arrest warrant for an employee at North Korea’s state airline over the fatal poisoning.