Defector‘s son returns home after visiting Pyongyang

Nov 27, 2017, 09:00 am

By Hong Soon-do, Beijing correspondent, AsiaToday

Choi In-guk, the first South Korean citizen who visited the North since President Moon Jae-in took office, has arrived in Shenyang, the capital of Liaoning province, on Saturday. He will be returning home on Monday after wrapping up his 4-day trip to Pyongyang.

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The ceremony to mark the first anniversary of the death of Ryu Mi-yong, the late chairwoman of the central committee of the Chondoist Chongu Party, the only quasi-religious party in North Korea. Her son Choi In-guk is standing in the first row, second from right./ Source: Choi In-guk

Choi had applied for a visit to the North in order to attend a ceremony to mark the first anniversary of the death of his mother Ryu Mi-yong, the late chairwoman of the Chondoist Chongu Party. South Korea's unification ministry had approved his cross-border travel. After entering the North via China on Nov. 22 and attending the memorial ceremony, he engaged in various activities with North Korean officials.

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Choi In-guk is paying his respects to his parents at his parents' joint grave./ Source: Choi In-guk

Choi told AsiaToday in a phone call, "It's not that I don't have anything to say, but it seems inappropriate to say something at this point." However, he slightly expressed dissatisfaction towards the recent strained inter-Korean relations.

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Choi In-guk is posing at his parents' joint grave along with North Korean Chongu Party official./ Source: Choi In-guk

Choi In-guk is the grandson of independence activists Choi Dong-oh and Ryu Dong-yeol. His father Choi Deok-sin lived in exile and defected to North Korea in mid-80s after serving as the foreign minister. The Ryu-Choi couple had two sons and three daughters when they defected to the North. Their eldest son Choi Gun-gook had lived in exile in Germany and died in 2015. All the three daughters are living abroad and Choi In-guk is the only child living in the South.

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Choi In-guk is posing with the acquaintances of his mother Ryu Mi-yong, the late chairwoman of the central committee of the Chondoist Chongu Party./ Source: Choi In-guk