Lim disappeared from South Korea in 2017. According to the police, her home was left virtually untouched.

In June 2017, Lim reappeared in an interview on North Korean TV. During the interview, she claimed that life in South Korea is "hell on earth," and said that she regretted her decision to defect, and later begged Kim Jong Un for forgiveness. She claimed to be living with her parents in the North Korean city of Anju. It was also her last known appearance.

This sure looks like a definitive win for NK here, absolutely no reason to consider this might be a staging. Also 8 years old news really feels like a sign that this is a widespread movement.