Captured by South Korean forces during the war, Ahn spent 42 years in prison after refusing to renounce his beliefs. He was released in 1995.
When long-term prisoners were offered repatriation to North Korea following a landmark inter-Korean summit in 2000, Ahn chose to remain in the South.
“I couldn’t accept leaving while American forces remained here. I had to stay here and keep speaking out,” he explained.
“If I went to the North, who would I say that to? There would be no one to say it to.”
Today, Ahn’s conviction has softened. His final wish is to return to North Korea and die among his comrades, he said.
But repeated requests to establish contact through intermediaries in China and Russia have gone unanswered.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has said his government would not prevent such a move, but with relations between the two Koreas frozen, there is little Seoul can do.
Faced with the reality that a return may never be possible, Ahn has begun to come to terms with it.
“People have two kinds of life, the biological and the social. I feel my social life has already run its course,” he said.
“If I went to the North now, it might feel like I was running away from reality. Perhaps it’s better to remain here for the time I have left, looking across the border towards my comrades until the day I die.”
Read the full article here
