A North Korean defector pulled off a death-defying escape to South Korea, evading border guards with orders to shoot on sight.
Archived version: https://archive.is/newest/https://san.com/cc/north-korean-defector-escapes-wrapped-in-foam-and-swimming-for-10-hours/
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To play devil’s advocate, there are defectors in the other direction as well and people who defect and then return. Individual cases aren’t proof of much, especially in such a fertile ground for propaganda.
What’s more persuasive, at least to me, are the public actions of the regime and the fact that The Communist Utopia ™ has a monarchy and clear militarist cult and supporting heirarchy.