Kim Ryen-hi attends a gathering to commemorate the publication of her autobiography in Seoul

Kim Ryen-hi, Aug 31, 2017 : Kim Ryen-hi, 47, attends a gathering to commemorate the publication of her autobiography in Seoul, South Korea. Kim was born in Pyeongyang, North Korea in 1969 and was a tailor in the North until she travelled to China in June, 2011 to meet her relatives. She said she was suffering relapse of a disease during her trip and was making money for medical fee, when she met smugglers who gave her a promise to take her to Seoul, where the smugglers said Kim could earn money fast before she comes back. Upon her arrival in South Korea in September, 2011, she requested to return home, saying she was cheated by the smugglers. Religious communities and civic groups in the South helped Kim and they started a public campaign in 2015, demanding South Korean government to send her back to Pyeongyang, however the South Korean government says Kim became a South Korean citizen after she had signed documents of defection and they don't have legal basis to send her back to Pyeongyang. Kim Ryen-hi who lives in Daegu, South Korea, insists she is a North Korean citizen. (Photo by Lee Jae-Won/AFLO) (SOUTH KOREA)