North Korea defector returns to Kim Jong-un’s draconian rule after fleeing south

It’s unknown why the man wanted to return to North Korea, which is known for violating human rights (Picture: AFP/Getty)

A North Korean defector has climbed over a barbed-wire fence to return to Kim Jong-un’s dictatorship in an extremely rare case.

A man was caught by surveillance equipment on New Year’s Day entering North Korean territory via the 155-mile-long southern border, which is guarded by land mines, tank traps and combat troops.

He is likely a defector who slipped through the same heavily fortified frontier in the other direction to settle in South Korea in November 2020, South Korea’s military said on Monday.

Information on the citizen, who identified himself as a former gymnast, is still being confirmed.

His fate is unknown as a message sent to North Korea to ensure his safety has been met with radio silence, South Korea ministry spokesman Boo Seung-Chan said on Monday.

It remains unknown why the man may have chosen to return to North Korea, which has one of the worst human rights records in the world.

Researchers from a South Korean human rights organisation recently heard witness testimonies of 27 state-sanctioned executions.

One man’s body was mutilated with a flamethrower as his father was made to watch, Transitional Justice Working Group claims.

Kim Jong-un has been in power for 10 years (Picture: KCNA VIA KNS/AFP via Getty Image)

South Korean marines patrol on the South Korea-controlled island of Yeonpyeong near the ‘northern limit line’ sea boundary with North Korea (Picture: YONHAP/AFP via Getty Images)

Another family allegedly watched a man be shot by a firing squad for illegally selling films and music.

Citizens were reportedly banned from laughing and crying for an 11-day period in December as Jong-un marked the 10th anniversary of the death of his father.

Around 34,000 North Koreans have fled to South Korea since the late 1990s, with economic and political reasons cited.

But only about 30 of them have returned home in the past decade according to South Korean government records.

Defecting via the 2.5-mile-wide border is rare and the vast majority of North Korean defectors who flee to South Korea travel via China and Southeast Asian countries.

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