A North Korean defector who fled to the South more than a decade ago was detained after trying to return to North Korea on a stolen bus, police said.
The man drove about 800 meters across the Tongil Bridge, the last border crossing where civilians can enter without special authorization, before crashing into the barricades, South Korea’s Gyeonggi Bukbu Provincial Police said. to CNN.
The area is heavily protected by military forces due to its proximity to the demilitarized zone that separates the two Koreas, one of the most fortified borders in the world.
Since moving to South Korea in 2011, the 35-year-old has worked day jobs without a stable home.
He told police he missed his family in North Korea.
“He lives alone in South Korea and faces economic difficulties,” police said. to CNN.
“However, he has been unable to settle in the South and misses his family in North Korea,” they said.
The man’s case is rare. More than 34,000 North Korean defectors have arrived in South Korea since fighting in the Korean War ended in 1953, according to official figures.
In the last decade, around 30 have returned home.
Defectors and advocates say the fact that some North Koreans are trying to return to their country points to how difficult it can be for them to assimilate into South Korean society.
The defector, who has not been identified by authorities, is being investigated on possible charges including vehicle theft, driving without a proper license, violating military base protection and violating the National Security Law, police said.
Security camera footage released by local police showed a man wearing shorts and a hoodie wandering around parked buses. He is seen checking out some buses before the lights on one of them come on. Shortly afterwards, he leaves with the bus.
This is not the first time that a North Korean defector has tried to cross the bridge to return to his home country, according to police.
In recent years, at least three other similar attempts have failed, although this is the first involving a stolen bus.
In September 2021, a 60-year-old woman attempted to cross the same bridge on foot but was detained.
In August 2018, a man in his 30s drove a car across the bridge, past checkpoints, but was detained by forces in the Joint Security Area – the section of the DMZ where North and South Korean forces are opposed.
The man had previously crossed the border into North Korea through China, but was returned by North Korean authorities.
This content was originally published in Pyongyang defector steals bus and tries to return to North Korea on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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