Italy says not aware of asylum request by N.Korean diplomat

Italy is not aware of any asylum request from North Korea's top diplomat in Rome who has reportedly gone into hiding in the country, a source close to the foreign ministry said Thursday.

"We have no knowledge" of such a request, the source told AFP, adding that the ministry had simply received a request for the "replacement" of the diplomat, identified by Seoul as Jo Song Gil.

South Korea's spy agency had briefed lawmakers on the fate of the diplomat after a newspaper reported that Jo had sought asylum in an unidentified Western country with his family.