North Korean Diplomats in Havana: A Tale of Execution and Intrigue

Patrick Oppmann, the seasoned CNN correspondent and head of the network’s Havana bureau since 2012, shared a gripping personal account on his Substack, Cuba Reporter. The story revolves around the grim fate of North Korea's ambassador to Cuba, Jon Yong-jin, and his wife, who were executed for treason after being summoned back to Pyongyang. This was reported by North Korean state media, as cited by Oppmann.

Oppmann, one of the longest-serving foreign correspondents on the island since the Cuban Revolution, pieced together the story from his own observations and details provided by an American diplomat known only as "Tim."

Unexpected Revelations at an International School

The saga began at the International School of Havana, a private institution in Miramar established in the 1960s by diplomat families seeking to avoid Cuba's state-run educational system, where students started their day singing "We Will Be Like Che."

It was here that Tim disclosed an intriguing detail: "You won't believe who some of the students' parents are." In his son's fourth-grade class were identical twin girls with long black hair, listed simply as from "Korea."

Since Cuba did not have diplomatic ties with South Korea, it was clear they were the daughters of the North Korean ambassador, whom Oppmann had seen arriving at the school in a black Mercedes with diplomatic plates numbered 145001.

Ambassador Jon Yong-jin was affable, spoke fluent English, and came from a prominent North Korean family. His wife was the sister of General Jang Song-thaek, the second most influential figure in Pyongyang and a mentor to the young dictator Kim Jong-un.

The twins' annual tuition exceeded $30,000, but this was no concern for the ambassador, who had only one stipulation: no South Korean students should be enrolled.

The Disappearance and Tragic Outcome

A sudden absence marked the twins’ departure. There was no farewell party, no announcement of a new destination. Attempts by the school to contact the North Korean embassy—a mansion in Vedado fortified with concrete walls and barbed wire—were met with silence.

Weeks later, news of a purge emerged: Kim Jong-un had ordered the execution of his uncle Jang Song-thaek on December 12, 2013, accusing him of treason, and recalled all diplomats associated with him. Ambassador Jon Yong-jin and his family were among those summoned.

At diplomatic gatherings, Oppmann and Tim speculated, "Did he even bother buying a return ticket?" Tim believed they returned to avoid the eradication of their extended family, a documented practice of the North Korean regime.

Confirmation came through a brief statement from North Korea’s state agency: the ambassador and his wife had been executed for treason. Of their twin daughters, nothing was mentioned.

Dark Ties Between Two Regimes

This case was not the only shadowy connection between the two dictatorial regimes in Havana. In November 2023, senior North Korean diplomat Ri Il-gyu, then stationed in Cuba, defected to South Korea. He uncovered a smuggling network involving Cuban cigars purchased at $50 per box and resold for $1,000 through diplomatic channels.

Cuba and North Korea maintained one of the longest-standing communist alliances from the Cold War since establishing diplomatic relations in August 1960, bonded by a shared ideology and anti-American stance.

This exclusivity came to an end when Cuba inaugurated its embassy in Seoul in June 2025, six decades after disregarding South Korea in favor of socialist solidarity with Pyongyang.