In August 2023, a man was seated motionlessly in a wheelchair on a direct flight from Beijing to Pyongyang, fully dressed in a hospital gown. He was identified as Bae Yong-ju, a North Korean hacker in his thirties who had been arrested in China while trying to reach South Korea. According to a report by the Transitional Justice Working Group (TJWG), an organization that tracks human rights violations in North Korea, North Korean authorities had dressed him as a patient to hide his forced return and prevent him from resisting or drawing attention from other passengers. This information was published by the TJWG on September 29 and appeared in headlines of South Korean newspapers. The TJWG report also accuses Pyongyang of operating a secret underground prison beneath the North Korean embassy in Beijing. The report claims that "North Korean citizens considered a threat to the regime" are reportedly detained and interrogated repeatedly in this hidden facility. This claim was reported by the English-language daily Korea Times. Bae Yong-ju had initially been sent to China by Pyongyang to "participate in cryptocurrency theft and the hacking of South Korean government agencies." He eventually sought asylum in South Korea, which would have led to his repatriation. His case has drawn attention to the broader issue of North Korean authorities allegedly using coercive measures to ensure the return of individuals who might pose a threat to the regime.