[5] North Korea under Kim Jong-un has allegedly started a campaign to attract defectors to return with promises of money, housing, and employment.
[7] It was reported in 2013 that North Korea had aired at least 13 such appearances on TV where returning defectors complain about poor living conditions in the South and pledge allegiance to Kim Jong-un.
[7][9] In November 2016, North Korean website Uriminzokkiri aired an interview with three double defectors who complained that they had been treated as second-class citizens.
[11] In 2016, defector Kim Ryon-hui's request to return to North Korea was denied by the South Korean government.
[12] In June 2017, Chun Hye-sung, a defector who had been a guest on several South Korean TV shows using the name Lim Ji-hyun, returned to the North.
[13] In 2019, South Korea deported two North Korean fishermen who tried to defect, saying that an investigation had found the men had killed 16 of their crewmates.