TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - On Thursday, September 11, 2014, the North Korean government repatriated a South Korean man who had entered North Korea illegally, in a rare defection case to the poor, isolated communist country.
The 52-years old man, Kim Sang-Gun, was handed over at the village of Panmunjom near the border.
Unauthorized excursions to North Korea is a violation of South Korean national security law. As such, Kim is facing possible arrest by South Korean authorities and may serve some jail time.
South Korea's Ministry of Unification said that the man is currently being interrogated by security officials.
North Korea's state-run media KCNA reported that Kim decided to settle in North Korea illegally via a third country, after finding it hard to make ends meet in South Korea.
The news agency did not say when or where Kim crossed the border, and gave no reason why North Korea chose to repatriate the man to South Korea.
Around 26,000 North Korean citizens have fled to South Korea since the Korean War ended with a ceasefire in 1953, but rare cases of South Koreans fleeing to the North have also been reported.
In the past, defectors from South Korea are usually allowed to stay in North Korea. However, in an unusual move Pyongyang deported six South Koreans who had entered North Korea illegally between 2009-2012.
ANTARANEWS