Another North Korean Soldier Has Reportedly Defected to South Korea

Seoul, MINA – A “low-ranking” North Korean soldier reportedly crossed the border and defected to South Korea Thursday morning, South Korean military officials said in a Yonhap News Agency report.

The incident did not spark a dramatic rescue like the one that captured international attention in November, when a North Korean soldier fled the country amid a hail of gunfire, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

The latest soldier to defect reportedly showed up in front of a guard post around 8:04 a.m. under a thick fog, the Joint Chiefs told Yonhap News.

This would be the fourth defection by a North Korean soldier this year, according to the Joint Chiefs.

The defector in November – identified by his last name “Oh” and believed to be 24-years-old – was shot at least five times as he made his escape.

US troops airlifted the defector by helicopter from the South Korean side of the border and transported him to a nearby hospital, where is he said to be recovering. (T/RS5/RS1)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)