A North Korean prisoner who had been on the run for more than 40 days after staging a daring escape from jail has been captured by Chinese police, authorities said on Sunday.
Officials in north-east China were offering a $23,000 bounty for the recapture of the escapee, in a manhunt that has sparked massive interest on social media.
The prisoner, 39, identified by the Chinese name Zhu Xianjian, was jailed in China after fleeing reclusive North Korea.
He escaped the complex in Jilin city by scaling a shed and vaulting the outer wall on October 18, and managed to stay at large before being captured on Sunday.
A one-line statement from Jilin police said he had been detained at about 10am on Sunday morning, without giving more details.
Videos shared by state-run Beijing News showed an emaciated-looking man being carried by several officers, with a photograph of him then lying on the ground with his hands behind his back.
Zhu was convicted of illegal entry into China, larceny and robbery, and was due for release and deportation back to the North in 2023, prompting online speculation that he broke out to avoid being sent back.
He illegally crossed a river separating North Korea from China in 2013. He then raided several houses in a nearby village, stealing money, mobile phones and clothes, court records show.
He also stabbed an elderly woman who discovered him, and tried to flee in a taxi before being arrested.
Human Rights Watch said in a July report that at least 1,100 North Koreans were detained in China, Pyongyang's main ally and economic benefactor.
