North Korean Defector Detained for Attempting to Cross Border Back to the North
In a daring and unusual move, South Korean police have detained a North Korean defector for trying to make his way back to the reclusive state by stealing a bus and crashing it into a barricade on the heavily-guarded border.
The incident unfolded on Tuesday on the Unification Bridge, the symbolic structure that separates the two Koreas. Despite soldiers urging him to stop, the man, believed to be in his 30s, plowed through in a stolen bus, marking a rare attempt by a defector to return to North Korea.
While over 34,000 North Koreans have successfully defected to South Korea over the past seven decades, cases of defectors seeking to go back to the North are incredibly uncommon.
According to reports from South Korean media, the man expressed a desire to return home after facing challenges in the South. He had originally left North Korea around ten years ago.
The daring escape began at 01:00 local time on Tuesday in the city of Paju, where the man stole the bus from a garage and was apprehended just half an hour later.
Surveillance footage captured the man, donning a hat, attempting to break into several vehicles before successfully accessing the bus.
Despite no signs of intoxication, the defector revealed to authorities that he had accumulated unpaid fines and struggled as a day laborer in various cities.
South Korean law strictly prohibits citizens, including defectors, from crossing the border back to North Korea without official approval. Those who violate this law could face up to ten years in prison if found guilty.
While South Korea welcomes over 1,000 North Korean defectors annually, the number of defectors returning to the North has been minimal, with only 31 cases recorded between 2012 and 2022, as per the South’s Unification Ministry.
Some defectors opt to return due to unmet expectations in the South, where their average monthly income is around 2.3 million won. Others seek reunification with family members.
However, the return journey is not without risks, as returnees have faced imprisonment and intensive re-education upon reaching North Korean soil.
In a recent case from January 2022, a defector in his 30s made a similar journey back to North Korea after struggling to adapt and make a living in South Korea. The challenges of resettlement led him to seek a different path, ultimately returning to his homeland. — BBC
