A North Korean soldier crossed the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) late Wednesday night and defected to South Korean forces, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said Thursday.
The Washington Post reported that the unidentified soldier made the crossing just before midnight, and was detained along the Imjin River by South Korean forces.
“A South Korean soldier on guard duty first found an unidentified object floating in the river via thermal observation devices, which was later confirmed as a person. The military then took him safely into custody in accordance with due protocol,” an official told Yonhap News Agency.
“The man is an active-duty soldier, and he expressed his desire to defect to the South. Related procedures are underway,” the official added.
It was unclear whether the man was injured during his successful escape, as another North Korean soldier was in 2017 when he led soldiers on a dramatic chase during his successful defection attempt while being shot several times.
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JUST IN: North Korean soldier defects to South by crossing DMZ at night https://t.co/XIVXqUtYFM pic.twitter.com/Lr3fVhneN1
— The Hill (@thehill) August 1, 2019
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