Chinese police on Sunday arrested a North Korean on the run for more than 40 days after escaping from prison, authorities said on Sunday.
Authorities in northeast China had offered a bounty of $ 23,000 (20,000 euros) in exchange for the capture of this fugitive, as part of a manhunt that sparked great interest on social networks .
Read also Emergency meeting Wednesday of the UN Security Council on North Korea
The 39-year-old prisoner, identified by his Chinese name Zhu Xianjian, was imprisoned in China after fleeing North Korea.
He escaped on October 18 from a prison in Jilin City by climbing up a hangar and crossing the outer wall.
In a statement, Jilin police said they arrested him on Sunday morning, without giving further details.
Videos shared by the official Beijing News newspaper showed an emaciated-looking man carried by several officers.
A photo then shows him lying on the ground with his hands behind his back.
Mr. Zhu had been sentenced for illegal entry into Chinese territory, theft and violence.
He was due to be released and deported to the North in 2023, with people claiming on social media that he escaped to avoid being extradited to his country of origin. In 2013, he illegally crossed a river separating North Korea from China. He then stole money, cell phones and clothes from several houses in a nearby village, court documents show. He also stabbed an elderly woman who discovered him and tried to flee in a taxi before being arrested by police.
In a report released in July, Human Rights Watch (HWR) said at least 1,100 North Koreans are being held in China, Pyongyang's mainstay.
After their release, many of them are deported to their country of origin, where they incur in particular torture, according to the NGO.
