Defector Son Jong-hun announced plans to return to North Korea this summer, and is no closer as 2013 near its end.

Son announced plans his plans to return, but through legal channels rather than sneaking over, in order to send a message about the South Korean government and society’s neglect of defectors. Son himself is deeply in debt, having worked in low-paying work at NGOs on behalf of other defectors and having leveraged his home to help another refugee in need, he told NK News.

His debt has left him unable to seek proper treatment for a potentially fatal liver