First prisoner of war to flee the North dies
The first South Korean prisoner of war to escape from the North died yesterday of cancer.Cho Chang-ho, who escaped from the North in October 1994, played a key role in shedding light on the situation of South Korean prisoners of war still being held in the North.
Commissioned as a second lieutenant of an artillery unit, Mr. Cho was captured following an engagement in Gangwon province with Chinese forces that had come to the aid of the North during the Korean War.
After spending more than 40 years in several prison and labor camps in the North, he managed to escape through China on a boat. Upon his return to the South, Mr. Kim was promoted to first lieutenant and retired. He worked to improve the fate of his fellow prisoners of war who were still in the North.
He was reunited with his wife in the South. He left three children behind that he had in the North.
The Defense Ministry estimates that more than 400 South Korean prisoners of war are still being held in the North today, but Pyongyang has denied their existence. Civic groups have criticized the government for failing to bring back the prisoners despite massive aid to the North. After the landmark 2000 inter-Korean summit, there have been reunions of separated families, but only a handful of former South Korean prisoners of war have been allowed to meet their families.
North Korea claims that all former South Korean soldiers in the North are there of their own free will. At an inter-Korean ministerial meeting in April of this year, the North for the first time agreed to address the issue, but no additional measures have taken place since.
Since 1999, government support for former prisoners of war has improved. Each receives a one-time payment of at least 120 million won ($128,277), a 66-square-meter apartment and a pension from the South Korean government.
by Brian Lee
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
To write comments, please log in to one of the accounts.
Standards Board Policy (0/250자)