SEOUL-- Rep. Tae Yong-ho, a North Korean defector-turned-lawmaker of the ruling People Power Party, announced his bid to run for the party's Supreme Council on Thursday.

Tae, who formerly served as the No. 2 diplomat at North Korea's Embassy in London, defected to South Korea in August 2016.

In 2020, he was elected to the National Assembly as the main conservative opposition United Future Party's candidate in Seoul's affluent southern district of Gangnam, becoming the first person hailing from the communist nation to be chosen directly by South Korean voters as their representative.

"If I become a Supreme Council member of the Republic of Korea's ruling party, it would be what Kim Jong-un would be most afraid of," he said in a press conference, referring to the North Korean leader.

The party is scheduled to hold a national convention March 8 to pick a new leader. Five seats of its Supreme Council will also be up for grabs.

Source: Yonhap News Agency