A North Korean serviceman has moved south through the demilitarized zone (DMZ) that divides the peninsula, the South Korean army said Thursday, which is a rare defection through one of the most fortified areas in the world. . The man was spotted Wednesday night moving south after crossing the military demarcation line in the central part of the DMZ. He was arrested "in accordance with procedures" and is being interrogated, the South Korean staff said.
More than 30,000 North Koreans have fled south since the end of the Korean War (1950-1953), according to official figures from Seoul. But defections through the DMZ are rare, the vast majority crossing the border with China, much more porous, before reaching South Korea via a third country.
His identity and motives are unknown
Apart from the fact that he is a soldier, no details were given in the immediate future on his identity or motives. "No particular movement of North Korean troops was observed on the other side of the border," said the staff. In November 2017, a northern soldier managed to cross the demarcation line in the village of Panmunjom under a shower of bullets, where the armies of the two Koreas face each other a few meters away. The images of this spectacular escape had traveled around the world. The defection announced Thursday is only the third through the DMZ since then.
The last frontier of the Cold War, the DMZ is despite its name one of the most militarized areas in the world, separating North Korea, a reclusive regime with the atomic bomb, the democratic South and much more advanced on the economic and technological plans. In 2012, a North Korean soldier was undetected to cross the DMZ without being spotted despite electrified wires and cameras. Seoul had relieved three officers of their duties because of this lack of supervision.
Subject to heavy international sanctions because of its nuclear tests and ballistic missiles, North Korea usually refers to "human garbage" as defectors, who are an important source of information for the South on how Pyongyang deals with topics.
Kim Jong Un supervised Wednesday rocket fire by a new system
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Wednesday oversaw the testing of a new multi-shot system, the North Korean state agency KCNA announced. Kim Jong Un "led a test firing of a multiple guided large-caliber launcher launch system on July 31," said KCNA. South Korea announced at dawn on Wednesday that Pyongyang had launched two "ballistic missiles" a few days after the firing of two other short-range projectiles to protest joint military exercises between Seoul and Washington.
The North Korean leader "has repeatedly expressed his satisfaction with the result of the firing test" and thanked the scientists and staff who "built another magnificent Korean style rocket launch system," said KCNA. . The agency did not provide details on the launch system in question. In June, Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump agreed at an impromptu meeting in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that divides the Korean peninsula to resume talks on the Pyongyang nuclear program.