North Korean defector steals bus in bid to return home from the South

SEOUL, South Korea — A North Korean defector living in South Korea was detained Tuesday after ramming a stolen bus into a barricade on a bridge near the heavily militarized border, in an apparent attempt to get back to the North, Yonhap news agency reported.

The incident took place around 1:30 a.m. (12:30 p.m. Monday ET) at the Tongil Bridge in Paju, northwest of the capital, Seoul, after the man ignored warnings from soldiers guarding the bridge and attempted to drive through, Yonhap said, citing city police.

Paju police referred queries on the incident to provincial police authorities. The northern Gyeonggi police agency could not be reached for comment.

The man, who is in his 30s and had defected more than a decade ago, told police that he was trying to return to North Korea after struggling to settle in the South, the report said.

It is highly unusual for North Koreans who have fled their isolated country to try to return, though many struggle to adapt to life in their democratic, capitalist neighbor.

As of June, around 34,200 North Koreans had resettled in South Korea, mostly after arduous, sometimes life-threatening journeys, usually via China, to escape poverty and oppression at home, according to Seoul’s unification ministry.

The ministry, which handles cross-border affairs and provides resettlement support for defectors, said in 2022 that about 30 defectors were confirmed to have returned to the North since 2012, but defectors and activists say there could be many more unreported cases.

In early 2022, a defector in his 30s made a rare, risky return to North Korea across the heavily fortified border after struggling to cope in the South, igniting fresh debate over how such escapees are treated in their new home country.