Jakarta, CNN Indonesia —
A North Korean soldier (Jewelry) cross the land border and then enter South Korean territory (Carousel) on Sunday (19/10). The South Korean military said it had arrested the man.
“Our military took into custody a North Korean soldier who crossed the military demarcation line (MDL) on the center line on Sunday,” South Korea‘s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement, reported by AFP.
“The military identified the individual near MDL, tracked and monitored him, and conducted standard guidance operations to detain him,” he said.
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT
Yonhap news agency previously reported that the North Korean soldier had defected to South Korea after successfully crossing the land border.
The MDL stretches in the middle of the Demilitarized Zone, the border area separating the two Koreas, which is one of the most heavily mined places in the world.
Tens of thousands of North Koreans have fled to South Korea since the peninsula was divided by war in the 1950s. Most of them first go overland to neighboring China, then enter third countries such as Thailand before finally reaching South Korea.
Defections across the land border that divides the peninsula are relatively rare, as the area is densely forested and monitored by soldiers on both sides.
Last April, a North Korean civilian crossed the land border assisted by the South Korean military in a complicated 20-hour operation. In August 2024, a North Korean soldier defected to South Korea by crossing the MDL.
North Korean citizens are usually handed over to Seoul’s intelligence agency for questioning when they arrive in South Korea.
The South Korean military said that relevant authorities would investigate the details of this latest crossing.
(fea)
[Gambas:Video CNN]
