Defector who planned to go home to son is arrested

A North Korean defector has been arrested and indicted on charges of supporting the North and preparing to defect back to Pyongyang in violation of the National Security Law, prosecutors here said Sunday.

The defector, identified only as a 49-year-old woman, is accused of sending 130 tons of rice worth about 105 million won ($97,000) to North Korea’s State Security Ministry, according to the Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office. The rice was sent via a broker in China on two occasions last year, the prosecutors said.

Prior to her arrest, the defector again attempted to send additional rice to the North by remitting 80 million won to the broker, they noted. The former North Korean woman is also suspected of having attempted to return to the North, as she has sold her house in the South and disposed of other personal belongings.

It is rare for a North Korean defector to voluntarily send rice to a North Korean government organ. The woman came to the South in 2011 and began contacting the North’s government early last year, prosecutors said, adding she told investigators she wanted to return to the North to be reunited with her son.

Yonhap