South Korea police arrest defector trying to return to the North after 2 years

South Korean police, on September 20, said that they had arrested a defector who was trying to return back to North Korea after spending two years in the South. Defection is a big problem in the Korean peninsula with hundreds of people defecating the Northern dictatorship to enter South Korea. As per the latest statistics, nearly 33, 000 people have defecated to the South over the past two decades. 

As per the local police, the unidentified defector had fled to South Korea in 2018 and was suspected of breaking in a military sight in  South Korea’s border town of Cheorwon to head back to North Korea. Explaining the case to reporters, a police official said that the man was currently under investigation and the police was probing into the reason of his crossing from one side to another. 

Other defection cases

In July this year,  a man successfully defected escalating tensions between the twin states. The man did so by going through a drainage ditch and swimming across the Han River to the North. Upon his return back to the North, the 24-year-old asked the government to probe into the security officials guarding the border. 

Earlier this year, Thae Yong-ho, who defected to South Korea from the North in 2016, become the first-ever defector to win a constituency seat. He was competing as United Future Party’s candidate in Seoul’s much affluent district, Gangnam won by a remarkable 58,4 per cent votes. Yong-ho who was North Korea's ambassador to the UK is the highest-ranking official to defecate from the Kim Jong Un led the nation.

Read: North Korean Defector Wins Gangnam Constituency Seat In South Korea

Read: Asia Today: Fewer Cases In Melbourne, Korea; Japan Travel Up

Yong-ho along with his family had defected in August 2016 saying that he had now become aware of the "gruesome realities” of the North. Speaking to a  parliamentary committee, he had highlighted the plight of North Koreans saying that they were living in conditions similar to slavery. Following his escape, the north had accused him of leaking state secrets, child rape and embezzlement of government's money. According to reports, near;y 33, 000 people have defecated to the south over the past two decades. 

Read: North Korea Defector Says He Is '99% Sure' Of Kim Jong Un's Death: Report

Read: South Korea: Defector Turned Activist Defiant Amid Korea Crisis

Image credits: AP