A North Korean army observation post in the demilitarized zone. Photo credits: AP
A North Korean soldier managed to flee across the heavily fortified, mine-laden border into South Korea.
This is the first confirmed crossing of the demilitarized zone into South Korea since August 2024, News.Az reports citing the Guardian.
The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said that on Sunday, the military took into custody a soldier who crossed the central land section of the border. The statement noted that the North Korean soldier expressed a desire to defect to South Korea.
Such an escape across the land border is rare, as the frontier between the two countries is heavily fortified and closely monitored. A 4-kilometer strip of the border is mined, blocked by anti-tank and barbed wire fences, and patrolled by armed units.
As early as October 2024, reports indicated that North Korea planned to fully secure the border and construct a new defensive line.
In 2017, when a North Korean soldier fled across the border, North Korean forces fired roughly 40 rounds before South Korean soldiers were able to pull the wounded man to safety.
Most of the roughly 34,000 North Koreans who have fled to the South since the end of the Korean War entered via China, which shares a long and less secure border with the North.
In April 2025, about ten North Korean soldiers crossed the military demarcation line in the eastern Demilitarized Zone.
Upon detecting the intrusion, South Korean forces fired warning shots and broadcast a radio warning.
The South Korean military said the intruders were armed, but there is no information on whether weapons were used in response.
Yonhap news agency sources note that the recent border crossing was likely unintentional and may have occurred during reconnaissance ahead of planned operations in the area.