when asked by carver if he would be prepared to travel to this isolated enclave , close to the sino-russian border , and one which was still being used as a detention centre , in order to make further enquiries concerning kim dong-moons welfare , kim kon had replied that it was outside of his remit - the city limits were the extent of his territory - besides such an investigation would be pointless : few people ever returned from the camps ; even the remains seldom get returned , he had joked , with a breathtaking lack of empathy with his client 's likely emotions .