Posted February. 21, 2002 09:17,
Only about 10 hours before U.S. President Bush visited the Dorasan Station in DMZ, a North Korean soldier armed with rifles defected through the West front to the South at night of 19th.
The Ministry of Defense announced that "North Korean Sgt. Chu Seung-Il (22) defected to Dorasan-Ri, Jangdan-Myun, Kyonggi, which is close to the Dorasan Station, the North-most station of the Kyong-Ui Railroad in the South at 11:18 P.M. on 19th and the related authorities are jointly investigating him."
According to the Defense Ministry, the North Korean soldier with winter uniform of the People`s Army was armed with two AK rifles and 5 magazines defected to the South through DMZ at 1.2 km Southwest of the Dorasan Station.
The Soldier fired 7 times to the air to notice his defection to the South and the military guard of the ROK Army who were on the special alert for the visit of the President acknowledged him by the Thermal Observation Device (TOD) and guided him safe and sound.
The North Korean soldier reportedly testified that "I heard that President Bush was going to visit Korea but I did not know when he was going to visit the Dorasan Station."
The Military authority released the defection of the North Korean soldiers on 20th, considering the guard services in terms of the two President`s visit to the Dorasan Station and the U.S. Military camp.