Seoul , South Korea — A North Korean man has defected to South Korea by crossing the heavily fortified and mined border between the two countries on foot, the South Korean military said Tuesday.
Tens of thousands of North Koreans have fled to South Korea since the end of the Korean War in 1953, but almost all do so via China and then a third country such as Thailand. It is rare for defectors to make it directly across the inter-Korean border.
The South Korean military intercepted "an individual suspected of being North Korean on the eastern front and handed him over to the relevant authorities," it announced, referring to Korea's east coast.
No unusual troop movements were observed in North Korea at the time of the defection, the Joint Chiefs of Staff added. "Relevant authorities are currently conducting the investigation and therefore cannot confirm the detailed process of the defection," or why the individual defected to the South, it said.
According to South Korea's Yonhap news agency, the defector is a senior sergeant in the North Korean army and was helped in his escape by the South's military.
Local media reported that the man, dressed in North Korean military uniform, was intercepted while walking along a seaside road in eastern Gangwon Province.
This is the second time in two weeks that a North Korean has managed to cross directly to the South. On Aug. 8, another defector managed to cross the inter-Korean maritime border in the Yellow Sea.
The number of defections fell sharply from 2020, when North Korea sealed its border with China to protect itself from COVID-19.
In 2023, the year Pyongyang reopened the Chinese border, a total of 196 North Koreans managed to cross into South Korea, compared to just 67 in 2022. According to the South Korean government, more and more members of the privileged class — diplomats or students abroad — are trying to flee.
