Returned North Korean Defector Defected from the North again and Returned to the South

Mr. Yoo Tae-Joon (photo), the defector who came down to the South in December 1998 and returned to the North to bring his wife in June 2000, ran away from the North again and returned to the South on the 9th.

According to Mr. Yoo`s family members, he came back to his family on the 11th after being investigated on his return to the North and the second defection from the North for two days.

Mr. Yoo was arrested by the North Korean Security authorities but ran away from the prison of the North`s National Security Guard in Pyongyang on November 10th. He was then arrested by Chinese authorities in Yenji. He insisted there that he is a Korean citizen and was deported to the South by the Chinese government.

Mr. Yoo returned to the North through Musan, Hamkyong Province to bring his wife in June 2000 and was arrested by the North`s security agents on the 19th and imprisoned. He argued that he voluntarily returned to the North at an interview with North Korean newspress.

Ms. Ahn Jeong-Suk, Mr. Yoo`s mother, said that "My son said that all my relatives in the North were killed."

Mr. Yoo, who was a director of the coal distribution in Hamheung, defected from the North with his three-year-old son in November 1998 and returned to the North to bring his wife in June 2000.

spear@donga.com