The North Korean defector assumed to have crossed the border into North Korea recently was under police investigation over allegations of rape. 

According to Gimpo police on Sunday, a defector identified by the surname Kim was booked without detention last month. The 24-year-old, who had fled to South Korea in 2017, is accused of sexually assaulting a woman at his home in Gimpo in mid-June. 

An acquaintance of Kim is said to have told police of Kim's plans to defect back to the North back on July 18, but that the report was ignored. 

North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency announced on Sunday a defector who had fled to the South three years earlier had returned home after crossing the heavily fortified military demarcation line. 

The report said the person had suspected coronavirus symptoms, prompting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to place Gaseong City under lockdown and to adopt a maximum emergency system.