Repatriation of North Korean men through Panmunjom, Nov. 2019 | Image: Ministry of Unification
South Korea’s unification ministry released a heavily censored video showing the repatriation of two North Korean fishermen on Monday, a day after the Yoon Suk-yeol presidential office accused the previous Moon Jae-in administration of “framing” the men as “heinous felons” without trial.
The approximately four-minute video appears to show one of the two fishermen pausing just before crossing the border at Panmunjom. The man appears to crouch briefly and then crawl on the ground before South Korean authorities drag him to his feet and force him over the border.
South Korea’s unification ministry released a heavily censored video showing the repatriation of two North Korean fishermen on Monday, a day after the Yoon Suk-yeol presidential office accused the previous Moon Jae-in administration of “framing” the men as “heinous felons” without trial.
The approximately four-minute video appears to show one of the two fishermen pausing just before crossing the border at Panmunjom. The man appears to crouch briefly and then crawl on the ground before South Korean authorities drag him to his feet and force him over the border.
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Jeongmin Kim is the Lead Correspondent at NK News and Editorial Director at KOREA PRO, based in Seoul. Kim covers inter-Korean relations and North and South Korean foreign and military affairs. Kim has covered the 2022 ROK presidential election on the ground, and prior to joining NK News, she worked for the CSIS Korea Chair in Washington D.C. and Reuters news agency’s Seoul bureau.