North Korean Soldier Defects Through DMZ, and Gunfire Erupts
HONG KONG — A North Korean soldier defected to South Korea on Thursday through the heavily guarded demilitarized zone
separating the two countries, leading to gunfire on both sides of the border, the South Korean military said.
South Korean soldiers later fired 20 warning shots at North Korean border guards who were searching for the
defector, which was followed 40 minutes later by gunfire in the North, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
The “low ranking” soldier was manning a guard post along the DMZ when he fled
through thick fog, the South Korean military’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
In that case, South Korean border guards who heard the gunshots found the soldier 55 yards from the border line
that bisects Panmunjom, the so-called truce village in the Joint Security Area, and carried him to safety.
South Korean officials have recently held out the possibility
that they might be willing to push back the timing of planned joint military exercises with the United States to reduce tensions.
However, all this depends on how North Korea behaves.”
China and Russia have proposed a “freeze for freeze” agreement in which North Korea would halt its nuclear
and missile tests in return for a halt to the military exercises
“It is possible for South Korea and the U. S. to review the possibility of postponing the exercises,” he said.