SEOUL, South Korea – A North Korean defector living in South Korea was detained Tuesday after crashing a stolen bus into a barricade on a bridge near the heavily militarized border while attempting to return to North Korea, Yonhap News reported.
The incident occurred at around 1:30 a.m. (12:30 p.m. ET on Monday) at the Unification Bridge in Paju, northwest of the capital Seoul, when the man drove away, ignoring warnings from soldiers guarding the bridge. Yonhap News announced that he tried to cross the border. According to the city police.
Paju Police referred inquiries regarding this incident to provincial police authorities. Gyeonggi Northern Police authorities could not be reached for comment.
The man, a man in his 30s who defected more than a decade ago, told police he was trying to return to North Korea after struggling to settle in South Korea, the report said.
It is highly unusual for North Koreans to attempt to return after fleeing their isolated country, but many are struggling to adjust to life in their democratic, capitalist neighbor.
According to Seoul’s Unification Ministry, as of June, about 34,200 North Koreans had been resettled in South Korea, most of them fleeing poverty and repression at home, usually through the hardships of China. Sometimes it takes a life-threatening journey.
In 2022, the ministry, which is in charge of cross-border operations and provides resettlement support for North Korean defectors, announced that approximately 30 North Korean defectors had been confirmed to have returned to North Korea since 2012. Defectors and activists say there may be many more cases going unreported.
In early 2022, a North Korean defector in his 30s made a rare and risky return to North Korea across a heavily fortified border after struggling to cope in South Korea. This has sparked a new debate about how such defectors will be treated in their new homeland.