North Korean soldier defects across Cheorwon border

A North Korean soldier crossed the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) near Cheorwon in Gangwon Province on June 23 and defected to South Korea, marking the second such case involving a North Korean servicemember since October. Including two civilian defections reported last year, it was the fourth defection since President Lee Jae-myung took office.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said June 24 that it had taken a North Korean soldier into custody after detecting him on the central front late the previous night. The military used frontline surveillance assets, including thermal observation devices, to track the soldier near the MDL and guide him across safely. The man, believed to be in his early 20s, crossed the border unarmed and indicated he wished to defect. Authorities are investigating the circumstances, the Joint Chiefs said.

North Korea has been stepping up fortification work north of the MDL around Cheorwon, installing barbed-wire fences, anti-tank barriers and land mines. The soldier is believed to have crossed through a section where construction was incomplete or through a gap in surveillance coverage. Some observers say he may have been among the troops assigned to the border construction effort.

The defection follows a similar case in October last year, when another North Korean soldier crossed the MDL near Cheorwon and entered South Korea.

The latest incident has fueled speculation about morale within North Korea's military. Defections by North Korean troops have continued even as Pyongyang accelerates efforts to seal off the border and strengthen physical barriers along the MDL under its "two hostile states" policy, a campaign aimed in part at preventing defections.


Sang-Ho Yun ysh1005@donga.com