State media appears to show first footage of ‘Laos 9’ refugees since they were sent back in 2013, claiming they have been well-treated despite fears of harsh punishment. DailyNK reports

North Korea has released a video featuring nine young defectors who were forcibly repatriated from Laos via China in May 2013, declaring that all are safe and living productive lives back in their homeland.



At the time, the defectors were believed to be orphans aged between 15 and 23 who had fled North Korea in April that year and entered Laos via China, reportedly with the help of a South Korean missionary organisation.



In a rare move for Vientiane, the nine were detained by Laotian authorities a week later, and forced on to a plane back to China, before being returned to North Korea in violation of international law. China, North Korea’s closest ally, does not recognise defectors as asylum seekers.



According to North Korean law, defectors face a minimum of five years’ hard labour, but more serious cases can receive life imprisonment, or even the death penalty.



However, Uriminzokkiri TV, the propaganda arm of North Korea’s Committee for Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland, released a video on 7 December on its website, apparently showing the defectors studying at school in good health.



The footage was titled, “Life for 9 Teenagers after Returning to the Warm Embrace of the Republic after Being Kidnapped by South Chosun [South Korean] Puppets,” indicating that the North holds South Korea responsible for the defections. The two are still technically at war.

“After being kidnapped by the South Chosun puppets, the nine young people have returned to their homeland, and in accordance with their wishes, are free to learn; a year and seven months have already passed since their lives started afresh,” the narration says.



The video specifically made mention of each individual’s name and offered detailed information on the activities and whereabouts of each child.



“Moon Chol, Jeong Kwang Yong, Ryu Kwang-hyok, and Baek Kwang-hyok are studying at Hero Hyesan Secondary School No 1; Baek Yong-won is at Hamheung Teachers’ College in the arts department, cultivating his talents to his heart’s content,” the film states. “The younger children, Ri Kwang-hyok, Ryu Chol-ryong , Jang Guk-hwa, and Ro Jong-yong, are studying at Kumsong Middle School No 1.”



The claims made in the video footage could not be independently verified. North Korea has no independent media, and severely restricts access to the country for international journalists.



The video is thought to be a response to allegations in South Korean media that two of the defectors had been executed, and the others sent to prison camps. It is also comes as Pyongyang faces mounting international criticism over human rights conditions in the North.

However, though the video appeared to show the four youngest defectors, no footage of the others has been released. As the video was introduced as episode one, the rest of the group may be featured in later episodes.



In the footage, there are images of the four students attending Kumsong Middle School No.1 in class, as well as their daily routines, evaluations from their teachers, and interviews.



“I’m proud that I’m here at a place that others cannot be even if they wanted to, and I’ve received a lot of kindness,” one said on camera. “I would like to become a good worker for our Marshal [North Korean leader Kim Jong-un], and I can hold my head up high with pride because I’m at a school that other people cannot come to even if they wanted.”



The website also released texts that it claims are pages from some of the young people’s diaries, which appear to express remorse for defecting.



“I didn’t know what was bad, and I didn’t understand whether I was doing something good or bad. I will never do bad things again and get lured into their trap,” said one. “I did not know what it means to be grateful for your country, but it has looked after me and loved me like a mother, so I would like to make up with this gratitude.”



The website also published photographs of the members visiting Mount Myohyang and famous tourist sites in Pyongyang last summer, with comments on the photos which said Kim Jong-un was like a mother taking in children with no parents.



A version of this article first appeared on DailyNK. Translation by Jiyeon Lee