Lawmakers reveal identities of two North Koreans forcibly repatriated in 2019

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Lawmakers reveal identities of two North Koreans forcibly repatriated in 2019

Statement says both fishermen in their 20s and from Chongjin, information that expert says ‘humanizes’ their case

Ifang Bremer | Jeongmin Kim September 15, 2022

Lawmakers reveal identities of two North Koreans forcibly repatriated in 2019

Photo of the Nov. 2019 repatriation of two North Korean men | Image: Unification Ministry

South Korean lawmakers revealed the identities of two North Korean fishermen forcibly repatriated in 2019 for the first time on Thursday, as they seek more information about what happened to the men after their return to the DPRK.

According to the lawmakers, the two fishermen apprehended near the inter-Korean maritime border in Nov. 2019 were U Bom Son and Kim Hyon Uk, who are now 25 and 26 years old, respectively.

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Ifang Bremer

Ifang Bremer is a Seoul Correspondent at NK News. He has worked on investigations for The Guardian and The Observer and previously wrote features on Korea for Dutch newspaper NRC.

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Jeongmin Kim

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. Follow her on Twitter @jeongminnkim

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