Thousands have risked snipers’ bullets to flee from brutal communist state North Korea to South Korea – now someone has defected in the opposite direction.
South Korea’s Troops spotted an individual who had cut through the fence of the Demilitarized Zone border. He was trying to get into South Korea.
It took the person about an hour to travel across the dangerous terrain, which was surrounded by landmines, barbed-wire fences, cameras, and armed guards.
South Korean army commanders said: ‘We’ve confirmed that the person crossed the Military Demarcation Line border and defected to the North.’
It took the person around one hour to travel across the dangerous terrain of an area rife with electric and barbed wire fencing, cameras, and armed guards.
There were more than 200 defectors per year from North Korea to South Korea, but this number has declined since the outbreak of the pandemic.
South Korea sent Sunday’s message to North Korea to assure the safety of its citizen, but they have not replied. Officers requested anonymity in line with department rules.
The circumstances of this case were not clear. It could have been a South Korean defector trying to flee to North Korea, or a North Korean defector who entered South Korean territory briefly before returning to North Korea.
North Korea shot and killed a South Korean official in fisheries who was found floating along its sea border.
North Korea announced that it would give priority to Covid restrictions during a highly publicized meeting of its ruling party last week
South Korea stated that North Korea’s troops had been ordered to execute any illegal crossings of its border, in an effort to prevent the outbreak of coronavirus.
Kim Jong Un, North Korea’s leader placed the border city under complete lockdown in early 2020 after a North Korean defector suffering from COVID-19 symptoms returned home. It is unknown what happened to the defector who lived in South Korea.
North Korea said Saturday that it would give priority to strict virus restrictions during a highly publicized meeting of its ruling party last week.
Two Koreas split at the Demilitarized zone, which is the largest and most militarily armed border in the world. Around 250,000 mines can be found within and around the 248-kilometer-long (155-mile-wide) DMZ. This is protected by tanks traps, barbed wire fencing, and combat troops from both sides.