Skeptic Review

UPDATE: Shots Fired But All Clear Now

SEOUL, Dec. 21 (Yonhap) — A North Korean soldier fled to South Korea through the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), the inter-Korean land border, Thursday, followed by gunfire from both sides, the South’s military said.

The “low-ranking” soldier appeared in front of a guard post on the mid-western front at around 8:04 a.m. amid thick fog, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).

After the defection, the North’s border guards approached the military demarcation line (MDL) apparently in search of the defector, a JCS official told reporters.

In response, the South’s troops fired some 20 warning shots at around 9:30 a.m., he said.

Roughly 40 minutes later, there was the sound of several gunshots from the North, but no bullets were found to have crossed the border, he added.

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SEOUL, Dec. 21 (Yonhap) — A North Korean soldier fled to South Korea through the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), the inter-Korean land border, Thursday, five weeks after a dramatic Panmunjom defection by a fellow serviceman. the South’s military said.

The “low-ranking” soldier appeared in front of a guard post on the mid-western front at around 8:04 a.m. amid thick fog, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).

There was no gunfire involving the latest defection of a North Korean soldier, the fourth this year alone, and no unusual movement of the North’s border troops has been detected either, a JCS official told reporters.

Related authorities are looking into the defector’s intentions, he added.

An image of a North Korean soldier’s defection to South Korea (Yonhap)

In a separate announcement, a Unification Ministry official said two North Korean people aboard a fishing boat defected to the South on Wednesday.

The “non-powered” vessel was reportedly found in the East Sea by a P-3C naval patrol plane, and the North Korean men expressed their intent to defect.

Last month, a North Korean soldier made a successful dash to the South via the truce village of Panmunjom after suffering multiple gunshot wounds fired by the communist nation’s border guards.

An official tally of the JCS shows that 15 North Korean people, including four soldiers, have fled to the South this year, versus one soldier and four civilians in 2016.

South Korea loudspeakers broadcast defection news to North Korean troops