South Korean Risks Live to Defect to North Korea
jpnn.com, KOREA - A South Korean has defected to North Korea by breaching a heavily fortified border, the South's military said on Sunday, revealing the rare event.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it launched a search operation after it detected the resident's presence on Saturday at 9:20 p.m. local time in the eastern part of the Demilitarized Zone, the area that separates South Korea and North Korea.
"We've confirmed that the person crossed the Military Demarcation Line border about 10:40 p.m. and defected to the North," the JCS said.
The JCS could not confirm whether the person was alive, but it had sent a notification to North Korea through a special military channel asking them to provide security.
The crossing, which is illegal in South Korea, comes at a time when North Korea is implementing strict measures to deal with the spread of the coronavirus.
Public anger and political commotion arose after North Korean troops shot dead a South Korean fishing official, who went missing at sea in September 2020.
The North Korean government in the capital, Pyongyang, said the incident occurred amid regulations to deal with Covid-19. Pyongyang later apologized.
Two months earlier, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un declared a state of national emergency and closed a city on the border.
A South Korean has defected to North Korea by breaching a heavily fortified border.
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