A man believed to be a Chinese human rights activist has been apprehended in South Korea following an apparent attempt to escape there on a jet ski.

According to the nation's coast guard, the individual journeyed around 300km (186 miles) across the Yellow Sea using binoculars and a compass but eventually encountered difficulties.

Although local sources identified him as Kwon Pyong, a critic of President Xi Jinping, his identity has not been confirmed.

The Chinese embassy in Seoul refrained from providing a statement. In recent times, Beijing has heightened its use of exit bans at airports and other legal border crossings to prevent activists from leaving China.

This makes it harder for dissidents seeking asylum, particularly in countries that lean towards pro-Beijing policies in Southeast Asia. Notably, Chinese human rights lawyer Lu Siwei was apprehended in Laos and repatriated to China last month before reuniting with his family in the United States.

But jet skiing across choppy waters to South Korea is perhaps one of the more extreme escape attempts seen in modern times.

South Korea's coast guard said the man, wearing a life jacket and helmet, was towing five barrels of fuel from Shandong province behind the 1800cc machine.

"He refilled the petrol on the ride and dumped the empty barrels into the sea," it explained, adding that he got into trouble near a cruise terminal off the western port of Incheon and called for help.

The coast guard did not identify the man but said he was detained last Wednesday for attempting "to smuggle himself" into the city. There is no suspicion that he could be a spy. South Korea-based campaigner Lee Dae-seon, from the non-profit organization Dialogue China, told the AFP news agency on Tuesday that Mr. Kwon, 35, was the escapee.

Mr. Kwon has spent time in prison in China for publicly criticizing President Xi.

It is highly likely that he would have experienced problems trying to leave the country by regular travel routes in order to claim asylum, and he is likely to have been subject to an exit ban stopping him from departing China legally.

Mr Lee said: "While [Mr Kwon's] means of entry into South Korea in violation of the law was wrong, surveillance of the Chinese authorities and political persecution of Kwon since 2016 are behind his life-risking crossing into South Korea."

He added that Mr Kwon was now considering whether to apply for refugee status in South Korea - which only grants a handful of requests each year - or a third country.

That is a very serious matter.

He's a spy

Really