North Korean leader Kim Jong-un personally ordered the return of nine North Korean defectors who were caught in Laos, Free North Korea Radio claimed Monday.

The nine, who are between 15 and 23 years old, have been placed in isolation near Pyongyang, the defector radio station added.

It quoted a source in Pyongyang as saying they arrived at a guesthouse in Sunan on May 29 and are still undergoing re-indoctrination.

It added that the high-profile extraction of the nine by North Korean agents using diplomatic passports only proceeded so quickly because of Kim's personal orders.

