A North Korean soldier defected to South Korea on Sunday across the mine-infested border separating the two countries, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said.
“Our military detained a North Korean soldier who crossed the military demarcation line on Sunday,” the JCS said in a statement.
“The army identified the individual near the military demarcation line, followed and monitored him and then carried out a standard escort operation to detain him,” the same source said.
The military demarcation line runs through the center of the demilitarized zone, the border area that separates the two Koreas and is one of the most mined places in the world.
The first military defection since summer 2024
Tens of thousands of North Koreans have fled to South Korea since the peninsula was divided by war in the 1950s.
Direct defections across the heavily patrolled and mined inter-Korean border are rare. Most North Korean refugees arriving in South Korea pass through China and then one or more third countries, such as Laos, Thailand or Mongolia.
South Korea’s military said relevant authorities would investigate the details of Sunday’s crossing.
North Koreans who manage to flee to South Korea are usually held by Seoul’s secret service for several weeks for verification and interrogation.
In August 2024, a North Korean army sergeant also fled his country to the South.
Source: BFM TV
