Chinese tennis player and three-time Olympic competitor Peng Shuai, who disappeared for weeks after accusing a high-ranking Communist official of raping her and has lately been recanting her allegations under the watchful eye of regime operatives, was parked in the stands on Tuesday to cheer American defector Eileen Gu as she won a gold medal for Beijing.
Iran’s only female Olympic medalist has defected from her country and reportedly fled to the Netherlands, according to a post on her Instagram account Saturday.
A North Korean nuclear scientist who defected to China in early November reportedly killed himself when he was deported back to North Korea.
Another North Korean soldier made a dash for freedom across the Demilitarized Zone on Thursday. His escape came just hours after two North Korean civilians attempted to defect in a fishing boat.
The U.S. military released a compilation of video clips on Wednesday that showed the daring defection of a North Korean soldier on November 13, including a scene of North Korean troops opening fire on their former comrade in close proximity to South Korean territory.
South Korean intelligence has determined that two top North Korean military officials, both previously considered close to dictator Kim Jong-un, have been punished for “impure behavior” in what some analysts believe is a sign the Kim regime is weakening in the face of tough sanctions and political pressure from China.
According to a high-level diplomat who defected from North Korea recently, dictator Kim Jong-un is “racing ahead with nuclear development, after setting up a plan to develop it at all costs by the end of 2017.”
Kurdish peshmerga fighters say they have detained an American, 27-year-old Virginia resident Muhammad Jamal Amin, after he defected from the Islamic State and tried to escape into Turkey.
