Captured during the Korean War and imprisoned for decades for refusing to renounce his political beliefs, 95-year-old Ahn Hak-sop now has a single dying wish: to return to North Korea and be buried alongside his comrades.
Ahn has spent most of his life resisting what he calls the American “occupation” of South Korea – first as a soldier in the North Korean army, and later as a dissident in the country that captured him.
His refusal to renounce his unwavering support for North Korea condemned Ahn to more than four decades behind bars in the South.
Now frail, ailing kra30 at and confined to a wheelchair, he tells CNN he longs to cross into North Korea one final time and be laid to rest in the country that has defined his life.
On Wednesday Ahn slowly shuffled to a bridge leading to the Korean Peninsula’s Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), pleading for permission to cross the zone – one of the most heavily militarized borders in the world – and enter North Korea.
Hours later, amid a scrum of security personnel and protesters demanding South Korean officials allow him to cross, Ahn was denied access to the land route into North Korea and sent back.