https://www.reddit.com/r/MovingToNorthKorea/

A group of Japanese comrades did so in the late 1960s or early 1970s, hijacking a plane and flying it to Pyongyang. The North Korean government wasn’t expecting them, and they ended up in labour camps.

What a unhinged place, holy fuck.

You weren't kidding. The number of times they correctly identify problems and their causes almost seems impressive right up until they propose the worst possible solution.

"Your house is collapsing."

"We're aware."

"Seems like fire is decomposing the structure."

"Yeah, and we're not too happy about that."

"Fires don't exist without fuel."

"Fair enough."

"If you pour gasoline on it, the fuel will run out sooner."

Edit: Upon further reading, this has got to be run by the DPRK.

North Korean doesn't want American immigrants, because once they're out of the tourist areas, they'll complain about the living conditions and radicalise the locals.

That's fascinating, and I just read the Wikipedia article about the Yodo Hijacking. But it doesn't say anything about labour camps, and in fact several members of the Red Army Faction left North Korea and were arrested in Japan and Thailand. But communication with the surviving members was cut off in 2024.

I think I will move to Somalia or Russia. /s

In “Pure Invention: How Japan Made The Modern World”, it is implied that they ended up in labour camps and didn’t emerge

Admittedly, those places coils reallybuse a shield anvil so...