A view of North Korea from Odusan Unification Observatory at Paju, South Korea, Aug. 14, 2024. (Luis Garcia/Stars and Stripes)
SEOUL, South Korea — A North Korean soldier crossed the heavily guarded southeastern border Tuesday and has been handed over to South Korean authorities for investigation, according to the South’s military and media reports.
An investigation is underway to determine whether the North Korean intentionally crossed the border and defected, a Ministry of National Defense spokesman said by phone Tuesday. No further details were provided.
South Korean officials regularly speak to the media on a customary condition of anonymity.
The individual is a staff sergeant in the North Korean army and was apprehended by South Korean troops stationed in the mountainous Gangwon province, an unidentified military source said in a Yonhap News report Tuesday.
The ministry reported an uptick in North Korean troops stationed at the border since April; many were part of working parties to lay mines, reinforce roads and construct anti-vehicle barriers.
The ministry last month warned of the possible defections from North Korean forces due to their working conditions at the border. At least 10 landmines were inadvertently triggered and injured some of the soldiers since April, and many worked in 12- to 13-hour shifts, according to the ministry.
Between 12 and 20 North Korean soldiers crossed the Military Demarcation Line, the actual border separating the Korean Peninsula, at least three times in June, according to the South’s military.
The South Korean army responded to the June crossings by firing warning shots and blaring warnings over loudspeakers. The North Korean forces returned to their side of the border without incident.
The latest border crossing comes 12 days after a North Korean defected through a small South Korean island at the western maritime border.
Nearly four years earlier, North Korean soldier Oh Chong-song drove a vehicle through the Demilitarized Zone under a hail of gunfire from pursuing troops. He was rescued by soldiers from the U.S. Army’s 2nd Infantry Division and airlifted by helicopter to a hospital in Suwon city for treatment of his gunshot wounds.
Almost 200 North Koreans defected to the South last year, of which 80% were women, according to an annual report from the South Korean Ministry of Unification. The ministry estimated that about 34,100 North Koreans have defected since 1948.
North Korean defectors receive money and vocational training from the South’s government, following an investigation into their background by the South Korean military and intelligence agencies.
The defectors also receive government-sponsored cultural training to better acclimate into South Korean society.
According to a Unification Ministry report on North Korean human rights in June, Pyongyang “has intensified its social education and punishments” and has been looking for “non-socialist” behavior among its citizens, such as using South Korean phrases.
Other benefits for defectors include free or reduced-cost tuition at universities, counseling services and medical care.
