A day of high drama at the inter-Korean border
on Monday.
A North Korean soldier pierced through the
world's most heavily guarded border to the
South in the unexpected way possible,... fleeing
across the Joint Security Area at Panmunjeom.
The soldier was shot and critically injured
by his fellow comrades, but the South Korean
military managed to quickly evacuate him to
hospital for treatment.
Kwon Jang-ho reports.
The Joint Security Area --
located on the border between the two Koreas
and the only place where soldiers from the
two sides stand face-to-face.
And at three-thirty-one PM on Monday, a lone
North Korean soldier ran from a guard post
on the northern side, and crossed over the
Military Demarcation Line into South Korean
territory.
The soldier suffered from gunshot wounds to
his shoulder and elbow from North Korean forces
while defecting.
Upon hearing the shots, South Korean soldiers
raised the alarm, but the defector was not
discovered until 25 minutes later, collapsed
on the ground, 50-meters from the border and
bleeding from his wounds.
(Korean)
Our soldiers safely retrieved the defector,
and urgently evacuated him to hospital to
treat his injuries.
He was airlifted by a United Nations Command
helicopter to Ajou University Medical Center
in Suwon, just south of Seoul, where he underwent
surgery.
The defector is thought to be in his twenties
or thirties, and wore a uniform of low rank.
Defecting through the JSA is extremely rare,
with only two previous instances in 1998 and
2007.
South Korean authorities have reassured that
there was no altercation between South and
North Korean soldiers, but added that Seoul
will remain alert to any possible provocations.
It's been almost two months since North Korea
last carried out a ballistic missile test,
or any other provocation, and many have hoped
that this signalled an easing of tensions
on the peninsula.
It's currently unclear what response Pyongyang
will give to Monday's incident.
Kwon Jang-ho, Arirang News.
