The North Korean soldier successfully crossed into South Korea with no unusual movements from the North’s military. According to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) the soldier was seen heading towards the South and crossed the demarcation line that separates the two sides. This defection comes after both sides agreed to remove guard posts on the order in an effort to build trust between both countries.
It also comes after a devastating summer that saw multiple crop failures in North Korea, which is likely to have a serious impact on the food available during the winter months.
Defections from North Korea are rare.
However, in the last several years, there have been multiple successful attempts.
When this has occurred in the past, it raised tensions on both sides.
Previous attempts have seen North Korean soldiers shooting their defecting colleagues.
The JCS has said that they will investigate the soldier.
There have been no unusual movements on the border.
Since 1953, over 31,000 North Koreans have defected to the neighbouring South.
Upon reaching South Korea, the defectors are interrogated in order to ensure that they are not spies.
They are then sent to the government resettlement centre Hanawon.
If a defector is caught by North Korea, they are killed.
According to South Korean lawmaker Park Byeong-seug, the number of defectors has significantly decreased since Kim Jong Un took over North Korea.
In 2017, only 1,127 people defected, less than half of the 2,706 detectors in 2011.
North and South Korea have made increasing strides to better relations which started with North Korea and South Korea participating in the 2018 Winter Olympics together under a united flag in some competitions.