South Korea took a soldier from the North into custody after the individual crossed the heavily fortified border this week in what is believed to be a defection, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency has reported.
“The military secured one North Korean soldier in the central front on Tuesday night, and relevant authorities are currently investigating the details,” Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a message to the media, according to Yonhap on Wednesday.
Tens of thousands of North Koreans have fled to South Korea since the peninsula was divided by war in the 1950s.
Most go overland to neighbouring China first, then enter a third country such as Thailand before finally making it to the South.
Defections across the land border that divides the peninsula are relatively rare, as the area is densely forested, riddled with landmines and monitored by soldiers on both sides.
