Officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade announced Wednesday that a former South Korean prisoner of war has set foot once again on his native soil, fifty years after being detained in North Korea, and, in recent weeks, China.

Officials said 72-year-old Jeon Yong-il arrived at Incheon International Airport at 2:10 p.m. aboard an Air China flight.

Park Joon-woo, deputy director-general of the Asia-Pacific affairs bureau at the ministry, said Jeon is in good health and will soon be united with four family members in Daegu, including his 78-year-old sister, Jeon Yon-ok.

His return will bring to 33 the number of South Korean POWs who have been repatriated after fleeing the North, following the high-profile 1994 return of former Second Lieutenant, Cho Chang-ho.

A former South Korean army private first class, Jeon was taken prisoner in the closing weeks of the Korean War at the age of 21. After living in the North for decades, he fled to China in May, hoping to reach his long-missed homeland.

However, he was arrested by Chinese authorities last month as he tried to board a Seoul-bound flight at an airport outside Shanghai with a forged passport.

Jeon apparently came close to being deported to North Korea, but the South Korean government intervened on his behalf after strong pleas from human rights activists.