Kim Kang-woo had already made the treacherous journey across North Korea’s border into China. Now, he was about to do the unthinkable – smuggle himself back in.
Wearing a black hoodie and concealing a knife, he blended in among merchants on the Chinese side of the Yalu River while he waited for the North Korean soldiers to drop their guard. He waded into the water at sunset and cried silently as he considered what awaited him on the other side: death, imprisonment, or reuniting with his mum.
