Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“South Korean police have detained a North Korean defector for attempting to cross the heavily-guarded border back to the North on a stolen bus. The man was caught Tuesday on the Unification Bridge that separates the two Koreas, where he ignored soldiers who asked him to stop and crashed the bus into a barricade. Though some 34,000 North Koreans have defected to the South since the Korean peninsula was divided more than 70 years ago, defectors seeking to return to the North are rare. The man, who is in his 30s, told police he had wanted to return home after experiencing difficulties in the South, according to South Korean media. He reportedly left North Korea about a decade ago. He reportedly stole the bus at 01:00 local time on Tuesday (16:00 GMT Monday) from a garage in the northern city of Paju and was caught half an hour later.” (10/02/24)