SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A North Korean soldier defected to South Korea by crossing the rivals’ heavily fortified border on Sunday, South Korea’s military confirmed.
The soldier crossed the central portion of the land border and was immediately taken into custody by South Korean forces, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement. According to officials, the soldier expressed a desire to resettle in South Korea.
Despite its name, the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) is anything but demilitarized. This 248-kilometer (155-mile) long and 4-kilometer (2.5-mile) wide border is heavily guarded with land mines, tank traps, barbed wire fences, and combat troops on both sides.
In a similar incident in 2017, a fleeing North Korean soldier sprinted across the border under heavy gunfire. North Korean soldiers fired about 40 rounds before South Korean troops managed to drag the wounded soldier to safety.
Tensions between the two Koreas remain high. North Korea has repeatedly rejected outreach efforts from South Korea’s liberal President Lee Jae-myung, who took office in June, promising to restore reconciliation between the two rivals.
https://wtop.com/world/2025/10/north-korean-soldier-defects-to-south-korea-across-the-rivals-heavily-fortified-border/