Unidentified person defects to N. Korea in crossing of heavily armed border

Jan 03, 2022, 09:30 am

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South Korean Defense Minister Suh Wook visits the country’s general outpost (GOP) battalion in the eastern section of the border with North Korea to inspect security situations of GOPs on Dec. 4, 2021./ Source: The Ministry of National Defense

AsiaToday reporter Lee Seok-jong

An unidentified person crossed the heavily fortified border into North Korea on New Year’s Day in an apparent defection. South Korea’s military announced Sunday the unidentified person crossed the eastern inter-Korean land border, where the 22nd Infantry Division of the Army is in charge, into North Korea the previous night.

The defection brought shame to Defense Minister Suh Wook, who recently stressed strengthening “across-the-border” national defense in his New Year’s message.

When the person was moving into the North across the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas, surveillance equipment installed on the heavily fortified border detected the person however the military’s initial response was found to be insufficient.

The South Korean military came under fire again for loose border defense, and the military admitted that its initial response was insufficient.

The person was spotted moving into the North across the Military Demarcation Line at around 10:40 p.m. on Saturday, after being detected by surveillance equipment installed on the eastern side of the heavily fortified border at around 9:20 p.m., according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).

In a fact-finding process later, a monitoring equipment installed on the barbed-wire fence alarmed at around 6:40 p.m. and the military authorities sent troops to the scene to capture the person but failed, according to the JCS.

The person was caught several times on CCTV surveillance cameras, all of which went unnoticed by the soldiers.

Many point out that the military’s initial response was insufficient considering that it failed to prevent defections occurred in the past despite normal operation of surveillance equipment.

“We think some parts of our initial response were insufficient, and we think we should have been done more actively” a JCS official said, noting the military has sent related officials to inspect the site.

The JCS said it could not confirm if the individual was still alive after crossing the border, and the military authorities are said to be working with relevant agencies to verify the person’s safety.

No unusual activity by the North Korean military has been detected. The South Korean military authorities sent a message to the North over the incident through a western military communication line.

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