« The defector was urgently transferred to hospital in a helicopter of the United Nations Command, and there was no exchange of fire with our side. »
A
North Korean soldier (L) and a South Korean soldier stand guard
at the truce village of Panmunjom in the demilitarised zone (DMZ)
separating the two Koreas in Paju, about 55 km (34 miles) north
of Seoul. Reuters/Jo
Yong-Hak
SEOUL (Reuters) –
A North Korea n soldier
defected to the South on Monday after being shot and wounded by
the North Korea n military,
South Korea said.
The soldier was found on the south side of the border village of
Panmunjom, about 50 meters south of the Military Demarcation
Line, wounded in his shoulder and elbow, according to a
South Korea n defense ministry official.
He defected from
a North Korea n guard post
nearby and was being treated in hospital.
« The defector was urgently transferred to hospital in a
helicopter of the United Nations Command, and there was no
exchange of fire with our side, » the ministry official told
Reuters.
« Since it was an area exposed to the North, we
had to crawl toward there to get him out, » the official added.
There was no immediate comment on the incident
from North Korea .
While on average more than
1,000 North Korea ns defect to
South Korea every year, most travel via
China and it is unusual for
a North Korea n to cross the
land border dividing the two Korea s, which have
been in a technical state of war since their 1950-53 conflict
ended in a truce, not a peace treaty.
The last such crossing was in June.
The South Korea n ministry official said the
soldier’s condition and military rank remained to be verified.
The defection comes amid tension between the
two Korea s, and between the United States and
the North .
North Korea has this year
been boosting its nuclear and missile capacity with a series of
tests as it faces off with U. S. President Donald Trump who has
vowed to stop it from being able to hit the mainland United
States with a nuclear weapon.
North Korea conducted its
sixth and most powerful nuclear bomb test on Sept. 3, but has not
launched any missiles since firing one over Japan on Sept. 15,
the longest such lull this year.
