North Korean man who crossed border wants to defect–South Korea's military | Inquirer News

North Korean man who crossed border wants to defect–South Korea’s military

/ 07:56 PM November 05, 2020

North Korea South Korea

 A North Korean man who crossed the heavily fortified border with South Korea has said he wants to defect to the South, Seoul officials said on Thursday. REUTERS VIDEO

SEOUL– A North Korean man who crossed the heavily fortified border with South Korea has said he wants to defect to the South, Seoul officials said on Thursday.

The man was taken into custody in the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas on Wednesday, several hours after he was spotted crossing barbed wire fences installed along the border, prompting an urgent search operation.

Article continues after this advertisement

Authorities have launched an investigation into how the man managed to cross the frontier, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said.

FEATURED STORIES

“I understand the person has expressed his willingness to defect,” JCS spokesman Kim Joon-rak told a briefing, declining to provide further detail during the ongoing investigation.

Kim said border controls were being further examined after the search for the man revealed that some parts of the fences equipped with electronic monitoring systems were found to have been damaged, possibly by typhoons.

Article continues after this advertisement

There was no unusual movement from North Korean troops, Kim added.

Article continues after this advertisement

The defection comes just as Seoul reopens tours to the southern part of the DMZ, which has seen several armed clashes but also served as a venue for key inter-Korean events, including some of the most recent summits.

Article continues after this advertisement

The tours had been suspended in October 2019 after an outbreak of deadly African swine fever broke out in North Korea, and then due to concerns about the novel coronavirus this year.

This week’s DMZ crossing is the first since a North Korean soldier defected to the South in 2019. Another soldier crossed in 2018, and in a more dramatic 2017 incident, North Korean troops fired at a soldier when he drove an army truck through the DMZ.

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.

Subscribe to our daily newsletter

By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy.

TAGS: defection, DMZ, Geopolitics, North Korea, South korea, world

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.

Subscribe to our newsletter!

By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy.

© Copyright 1997-2024 INQUIRER.net | All Rights Reserved

This is an information message

We use cookies to enhance your experience. By continuing, you agree to our use of cookies. Learn more here.