Hyonhee Shin

SEOUL (Reuters), – South Korean military says a South Korean defector crossed the fortified border to North Korea in rare escape.

According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the search was conducted after the individual was spotted on Saturday at 9:20 p.m. (1220 GMT). The person is located on the eastern border of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), which separates the Koreas.

The JCS stated that they had confirmed the fact that the individual crossed the Military Demarcation Line border at 10:40 pm (1340 GMT), and then defected to North.

While the JCS couldn’t confirm that the victim was still alive, they sent a notification to North via a hotline for protection.

Although South Korea is not allowed to cross the border, North Korea has been implementing strict anti-coronavirus precautions since opening its borders early 2020. However, it has yet to confirm any infection.

After North Korean soldiers killed a South Korean official in the fisheries sector, there was a public uproar. The incident occurred September 2020. Pyongyang blamed antivirus rules for his disappearance and apologized.

Kim Jong Un, North Korean leader declared a state of emergency two months prior and closed a border city after an illegal North Korean defector with COVID-19 symptoms crossed into North Korea from South.

Long-term North Korean lockdowns have led to a significant drop in North Korean defectors settling in South Korea.

The failure of a summit in 2019 resulted in cross-border relations being strained. Denuclearisation negotiations were between Washington and Pyongyang, but they have remained deadlocked.

Since the Korean War, 1950-1953, which ended with an armistice and not a peace agreement in Korea, South Korea is technically at war with North Korea through a U.S-led U.N. force.