CAIRO: A North Korean artist decided he would not return home after a lengthy stay in Egypt, instead choosing to defect in Egypt through the South Korean embassy, diplomatic sources said on Monday. The Korea Herald reported that the artist, who was not named, failed to return home to Pyongyang after his stay in Egypt and went to the South Korean embassy to apply for asylum, citing an unnamed source. The South Korean embassy was not immediately available for comment to Bikyamasr.com on Tuesday. North and South Korea have a long history of defections, with the repressive nature of the North seeing many of its citizens attempt to leave the country, which has continued to curtail its allowing of the outside world to be seen inside the country. Defection has been a sensitive issue between the two Koreas, which still remain technically at war since the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a cease-fire, not a peace treaty. Earlier this month, two North Koreans crossed the eastern sea border to defect to the South. The North immediately asked the South to hand over its two citizens, but South Korea rejected that demand. Seoul has a longstanding policy of accepting any North Korean defector who wants to live in the South, but to repatriate any North Koreans who stray into the South if they want to return, the newspaper reported. More than 22,000 North Koreans have defected to the South to avoid chronic hunger and political oppression since the war. BM
