A North Korean staff sergeant defected to South Korea by crossing the heavily fortified inter-Korean border near the northeastern coast in Goseong county, marking the second known defection this month.
He walked along the waterfront road in eastern Gangwon province wearing a North Korean military uniform when picked up by authorities after crossing through minefields within the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).
Defections from North Korea to South Korea across the border are considered risky and relatively rare, with most escapees making their way to the South through China or other third countries.
Tens of thousands of North Koreans have fled to South Korea since the 1950s war, with most crossing into China first. Defections dropped in 2020 due to North Korea sealing borders against COVID-19 and rose in 2023 after border controls eased.
In 2017, a border guard survived being shot five times while escaping to South Korea. Beijing has been criticized for forcibly repatriating North Koreans, putting them at risk of torture or imprisonment.
Another person defected across the de facto maritime border in the Yellow Sea on August 8.
A civilian defector successfully crossed the border zone in 2020 and later reportedly returned to North Korea.
This article was written in collaboration with Generative AI news company Alchemiq
Sources: Bloomberg, The Guardian, Financial Times, Al Jazeera, The Japan Times, Chosun, The Japan News (Yomiuri Shimbun), Asahi Shimbun, India TV News, Al Arabiya, The News & Observer, UPI, Aussiedlerbote, TBS News, Firstpost, Indian Defence News.