North Korean soldier defects across DMZ to South: military, media

SEOUL, Aug. 19 (UPI) -- A North Korean soldier defected through the demilitarized zone, the South's military and local media said Tuesday, the second border crossing this month amid a loudspeaker propaganda campaign by Seoul.

"Our military secured one person presumed to be a North Korean on the eastern front today and handed them over to the relevant authorities," an official with Seoul's Defense Ministry said in a statement provided to UPI.

"The relevant authorities are currently investigating the process of moving south and whether [the individual] defected," the statement said.

"There have been no unusual movements by the North Korean military as of now," it added.

News agency Yonhap reported that the defector was wearing a military uniform and appeared to be a staff sergeant, citing military sources.

The North Korean is believed to have walked across the military demarcation line in the eastern section of the DMZ, Yonhap reported. The South Korean military detected the soldier's movement in the North and "conducted an operation to help him arrive in the South," the report said.

The defection comes less than two weeks after another North Korean escaped across the neutral waters of the Han River estuary west of the inter-Korean border.

South Korea has been conducting steady propaganda loudspeaker broadcasts near the DMZ since mid-July, blasting K-pop songs and South Korean news and information across the border.

The broadcasts reportedly call for soldiers working in border areas to escape and include news of the defection of a North Korean diplomat from Cuba last year. South Korea's military claims the speakers can be heard as far as 15 miles away.

It is unclear whether the broadcasts have influenced the recent defections. Following the Han River incident earlier this month, a Defense Ministry spokesperson told reporters that further analysis was required.

Direct defections have been historically rare, with most escapees crossing overland via the border with China. Defectors are granted citizenship and receive financial support and training after being vetted by South Korean intelligence agencies.

Over 34,000 North Koreans have fled to the South to escape dire economic conditions and the country's brutally repressive regime. However, the number of arrivals has plummeted after Pyongyang sealed its borders and ramped up security in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Some 105 defectors arrived in South Korea over the first half of the year, a slight uptick from 99 over the same period last year.

Tensions remain high on the Korean Peninsula, with back-and-forth Cold War-style psychological warfare emerging along border areas in recent months.

North Korea has sent thousands of balloons carrying scrap paper, shredded clothing and manure into the South since early June, including one that spilled trash on South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's compound.