N. Korean defector and ex-convict caught 78 days after fleeing from mental hospital: police

A North Korean defector and ex-convict who fled from a mental hospital was caught Wednesday, after 78 days on the run, police said Thursday.

According to Naju Police Station, the man surnamed Yoo was caught in Namdong-gu of Incheon on Wednesday. 

After serving a jail term for the attempted murder of his half brother, he had been ordered by a court to 10 years of medical treatment for delusions. He escaped from the hospital in Naju on Aug. 1, breaking the electric anklet he had been ordered to wear.

Yoo is said to repeatedly ask to be sent back to North Korea.

The 48-year-old first fled from North Korea in 1998 and moved back in 2001. He brought his wife back to the South in 2002.

By Jo He-rim (herim@heraldcorp.com)