North Korea releases propaganda video of defectors forced to return leading 'happy lives'

North Korea has released a propaganda video showing nine young defectors who were forced to return to the country from Laos via China last year, showing them to all be "leading happy lives".

Uriminzokkiri TV, the North Korean propaganda broadcaster for the Committee for Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland, released the video showing the young people living their lives and studying in school in the pariah state.

The youngsters are seen in school with reviews from their teachers and it also shows them playing volleyball and basketball in a sports hall.

The defectors fled North Korea in April last year and entered Laos via China with the alleged help of a South Korean organisation, they were then detained by authorities and forced on a plane to China and back to North Korea.

Because of the diplomatic relations between China and North Korea, China does give defectors asylum in the country.

The video is entitled "Life for 9 Teenagers after Returning to the Warm Embrace of the Republic after Being Kidnapped by South Chosun (South Korean) Puppets" and claims that the nine youngsters were "enticed and kidnapped" by South Korean authorities.

"After being kidnapped by the South Chosun puppets, the nine young people have returned to their homeland, and in accordance with their wishes, are free to learn; a year and seven months have already passed since their lives started afresh," the video says.

The information in the video could not be independently verified due to the propagandistic nature of North Korean media output and the country's restrictions on international media access.