North Korean detained after crossing land border: Seoul military

Straits Times

2 days ago

Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
North Koreans are typically handed over to Seoul's intelligence agency for screening when they arrive in the South.
SEOUL - A North Korean who crossed the heavily fortified land border into the South has been detained and taken into custody, Seoul's military said on July 4.
The North Korean managed to cross the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) in the midwestern part of the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) on July 3, Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said.
The MDL is the de-facto border , which runs through the middle of the DMZ - the border area separating the two Koreas, which is one of the most heavily mined places on earth.
'The military identified the individual near the MDL, conducted tracking and surveillance,' the JCS said in a statement.
It then 'successfully carried out a standard guiding operation to secure custody,' it added.
Seoul's military said 'relevant authorities' will investigate the detailed circumstances of the incident.
North Koreans are typically handed over to Seoul's intelligence agency for screening when they arrive in the South.
The incident comes after a wooden boat carrying four North Koreans drifted into waters south of the de-facto maritime border in May.
Another North Korean defected to the South across the de-facto border in the Yellow Sea in 2024, arriving on Gyodong island off the peninsula's west coast near the border between the Koreas.
Tens of thousands of North Koreans have fled to South Korea since the peninsula was divided by war in the 1950s, with most going overland to neighbouring China first, then entering a third country such as Thailand before finally making it to the South.
Defections across the land border that divides the peninsula are rare.
The number of successful escapes dropped significantly from 2020 after the North sealed its borders - purportedly with shoot-on-sight orders along the land frontier with China - to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
South Korea's President Lee Jae Myung, who took office in June, has
vowed a more dovish approach towards Pyongyang compared with his hawkish predecessor Yoon Suk Yeol.
'Politics and diplomacy must be handled without emotion and approached with reason and logic,' Mr Lee said on July 3.
'Completely cutting off dialogue is really a foolish thing to do.' AFP