Elderly Individual Desires Passing in North Korea, but South Korea Prevents Departure

A 95-Year-Old South Korean Man's Dying Wish: To Be Buried in North Korea

Ahn Hak-sop, a 95-year-old South Korean man, has spent more than half his life in South Korea after being captured during the Korean War. Now, he finds himself in a modest home in Yonggang-ri, barely a mile from the North Korean border he dreams of crossing.

Born in 1930 on Ganghwa Island, South Korea, during Japan's colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula, Ahn enlisted with North Korea's People's Army in 1952. He was captured during the war and has been imprisoned in South Korea for over four decades for refusing to renounce his support for North Korea.

Ahn's imprisonment is among the longest endured by a North Korean POW held in the South. Even after his pardon in 1995, he said he remained under close monitoring and was followed by police.

Ahn has never wavered in his belief that South Korea remains a colony under American influence. When Japan surrendered in 1945, Ahn felt betrayed by the proclamation that placed Korea south of the 38th parallel under American military control.

The Korean War ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty, meaning North and South Korea are still technically at war. In 2000, amid a brief thaw of political tensions between Seoul and Pyongyang, South Korea permitted 63 unconverted long-term prisoners to return to the North. However, Ahn chose to stay.

On Wednesday, Ahn attempted to cross the Korean Peninsula's Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) to enter North Korea, but was denied access. Officials blocked his passage, citing national security law and the absence of any agreement with Pyongyang to facilitate his return.

North Korea halted all communications with South Korea in 2023, making it tougher for Seoul to discuss Ahn and other prisoners' repatriation. The Unification Ministry official dealing with the possible repatriation of Ahn Hak-sop is Park Ji-won.

Ahn alleges he endured brutal punishments, including beatings and exposure to freezing water, during his imprisonment. Today, the walls of his home are covered with faded photographs and North Korean posters, mementos of an ideology that has defined his existence. His doormat is a U.S. flag.

Despite the hardships he has faced, Ahn's dying wish is to be buried in North Korea. A poignant reminder of the divided nation and the lingering pain of the past.