"North Korean Defector Mother and Child Attempting Escape to Russia, Headed to Vladivostok... Forced Repatriation Imminent"

Claim by Jo Hanbeom, Research Fellow at the Institute for Unification Studies

A North Korean mother and son, who were reportedly detained at the North Korean Embassy in Moscow after attempting to escape from Russia, have recently been transferred to the North Korean Consulate in Vladivostok, and claims have been raised that their forced repatriation is imminent.

Photo by YouTube 'Daedonggang TV' capture

Jo Han-beom, a research fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification, recently revealed on his YouTube channel 'Daedonggang TV' that Kim Geum-soon (43) and her son Park Kwon-ju (15), who escaped from the North Korean Consulate in Vladivostok in June but were arrested by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) and detained at the North Korean Embassy in Moscow, were moved back to the North Korean Consulate in Vladivostok earlier last month.

Previously, Jo stated that Kim is the wife of Park, who worked as the manager of the local North Korean restaurant 'Goryeogwan.' She managed Goryeogwan as a proxy manager in place of her husband, who had returned to North Korea, and after the restaurant’s deputy manager attempted to defect and was detained, she and her son attempted to escape.

Jo emphasized, "Currently, the only means of personnel transport between Russia and North Korea is irregular flights between Vladivostok and Pyongyang," adding, "It is said that this mother and son are scheduled to be forcibly repatriated to North Korea on the earliest available flight."

He also said, "The North Korean Embassy in Moscow has been converted from a guesthouse into a prison," and "There were many detainees including defectors, overseas diplomatic staff, and foreign currency-earning IT engineers, and last month they were all planned to be transferred to Vladivostok."

Furthermore, Jo claimed, "Among them, a male defector in his 40s reportedly took his own life at the end of October, just before being transferred to Vladivostok, fearing punishment after forced repatriation."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.