North Korean soldier defects to the South after crossing demilitarized zone

Second known defection of a North Korean soldier in recent months

South and North Korean soldiers keep watch each other next to a spot where a North Korean has defected crossing the border on November 13, at the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone, South Korea (REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji)

A North Korean soldier has defected to South Korea after crossing the heavily fortified demilitarized zone.

A South Korean defence official said the soldier managed to traverse the DMZ that spans the two nations without any shots being fired, taking advantage of what Yonhap news agency described as thick fog.

It marks the second known defection of a North Korean soldier in recent months. Another man who escaped in November was hit multiple times as North Korean soldiers opened fire, according to the South Korean military, and underwent treatment in the South.

According to the South Korean Ministry of Unification, the number of North Koreans who attempted to defect dropped by more than 10 per cent in the first part of 2017 compared to the year prior.

But that came after an unusually high number the previous year, with the ministry estimating that more than 1,400 people defected from North Korea to the South over the course of 2016.

A ministry official told the Wall Street Journal that some said they were leaving “not just because they are starving, but for a better life, and for freedom and for their children’s education“.

The defections come at a time of soaring tension on the Korean Peninsula. Pyongyang has repeatedly tested intercontinental ballistic missiles and detonated a powerful hydrogen bomb, threatening its neighbours and drawing global condemnation.

Both North Korea and South Korea maintain a substantial military presence along the border, and South Korea has conducted joint military drills with the United States that the North has condemned as aggressive provocations.