Crossing Borders - Helping North Korean Refugees and Orphans

View Original

North Korean soldier defects, crossing DMZ

Surveillance video shows a North Korean defector running to the border with South Korea on Nov. 13. U.N. Command / via EPA

Though most North Korean defectors will choose the clandestine path of escaping through the Chinese border, last week a soldier fled across the heavily militarized DMZ at Panmunjom. 

Shot and chased until he reached the safety of the South Korean side of the border, the soldier suffered internal injuries and was later transferred to a hospital for surgery. 

Human rights activists have published reports of the soldier's health and speculation surrounding his reasons for defection. In the meantime, the United Nations has been focusing on the violations of the Korean armistice agreement from 1953. 

The U.N. command said the North violated the armistice by "one, firing weapons across the [Military Demarcation Line], and two, by actually crossing the MDL temporarily."

A U.N. Command statement said officials notified the North's military of these violations and requested a meeting to discuss the investigation results and measures to prevent future such violations.

Read the full story and watch the footage here: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/north-korea-violated-war-armistice-firing-defector-u-n-command-n823186