Tragedy of a North Korean defector

(FILES) This file photo taken on February 19, 2013 shows Shin Dong-Hyuk, believed to be the only person born in a North Korean prison camp ever to have escaped, as he attends the Geneva Summit for Human Right and Democracy in Geneva. The North Korean gulag survivor whose torture and daring escape was detailed in a best-selling book admitted he lied about details in his story, and said on January 18, 2015 he may end his campaign against human rights abuses. AFP PHOTO / FILES / FABRICE COFFRINI

SEOUL: North Korean defector Shin Dong-hyuk (pic), whose testimony of life in a North Korean gulag before his escape in 2005 propelled the unprecedented effort by the international community to address the brutal human rights abuses in the totalitarian state, has recanted parts of his story, potentially dealing a blow to the movement for which he was a poster boy.

Questions about the veracity of Shin’s story told in Escape from Camp 14, written by former Washington Post journalist Blaine Harden and published in 2012, seem to have been circulating for some time in the North Korean defector community.