[News] Unnidentified person makes rare defection, crosses the heavily militarized border from South Korea into North Korea

An unidentified person has crossed the heavily armed border from South Korea into North Korea in a rare defection, the South Korean military has said.

South Korea’s military say the person was spotted at the eastern front of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) at around 9:20 p.m. local time on Saturday, January 1, 2022.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said the person was detected by the military with the use of a thermal observation device.

The JCS said troops were dispatched but they were unable to find the person, who crossed the Military Demarcation Line into North Korea at around 10:40 p.m.

The JCD said security cameras had earlier captured the person climbing a barbed wire fence at around 6:40 p.m. Saturday, but the guard on CCTV duty had missed it.

The official said that it is still unknown whether the person was still alive.

Due to the poor living conditions plus authoritarian regime in North Korea, North Koreans are usually the ones who defect to South Korea. But for someone living in South Korea, one of the world’s best economies to make the dangerous journey through the demilitarized zone (South- North Korean border) into North Korea is extremely rare.

People living in North Korea who are caught trying to defect to South Korea are killed on the spot if caught by North Korean military officials.