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North Korean soldier flees to South as Trump talks up second Kim summit North Korean soldier flees to South as Trump talks up second Kim summit
(about 9 hours later)
Another North Korean soldier fled across a heavily fortified border to defect to South Korea early on Saturday, the military in Seoul said, just as the rivals began taking steps to reduce military tensions. A North Korean soldier has defected to the South by crossing the border in the demilitarised zone (DMZ), where the two countries have been removing fortifications to reduce tensions and build trust.
South Korean soldiers escorted the defector to safety after finding him moving south of the eastern side of the military demarcation line that bisects the Koreas, South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff said. The escape came as the US president, Donald Trump, said he hoped for another summit with the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un next year, despite growing concerns that denuclearisation talks between the two nations have effectively stalled.
The incident came as Donald Trump reaffirmed in a meeting with his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in that he wants a second summit with North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un. Trump and Moon, meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, “reaffirmed their commitment to achieve the final, fully verified denuclearisation” of North Korea, Trump spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said. The latest defector, who has not been named, was spotted moving towards the demarcation line, South Korea’s military said in a statement. After the crossing the soldier was escorted to safety and, like all defectors, will be investigated.
South Korean authorities said they would question the defecting soldier over the details of his escape. The joint chiefs of staff said it had not observed any unusual activity from North Korean troops in the area where the defection happened. In September a deal was reached to reduce military tensions. South Korea’s president Moon Jae-in has been eager to push ahead with better ties and closer economic links with the North, even without progress in wider nuclear talks. As part of this effort, South Korea last month also sent trains north for the first time in a decade to survey North Korean railways.
It comes as North and South Korea push to implement a wide-ranging military agreement reached in September to reduce tensions across their border.The North’s official media has not reported about Saturday’s case. Pyongyang has frequently accused Seoul of kidnapping or enticing its citizens to defect. About 30,000 North Koreans have fled to South Korea, mostly travelling via China, since the end of the 1950-53 Korean war. The two countries started removing guard posts and mines from some areas, and are planning the first joint search for remains of soldiers killed in the 1950 to 1953 Korean war.
In November 2017 a North Korean soldier was critically wounded in a jointly controlled area after he fled to the South amid a hail of bullets fired by his former comrades. Around 30,000 North Koreans have fled to the South since the end of that conflict, most travelling through China. Pyongyang frequently accuses Seoul of kidnapping or bribing citizens to defect.
The soldier, Oh Chong-song, survived and told a Japanese newspaper last month that he had been drinking after getting into unspecified trouble with his friends. He said he kept going after breaking through a checkpoint in a military jeep because he became fearful of being executed.
South Korea says the military agreement, which also included creating buffer zones along the Koreas’ land and sea boundaries and a no-fly zone above the border, is an important trust-building step that would help stabilise peace and advance reconciliation between the rivals. But critics say the South risks conceding some of its conventional military strength before North Korea takes any meaningful steps on denuclearisation, as the larger nuclear negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang seemingly drift into a stalemate.
Second North Korean soldier in weeks defects to South, say reportsSecond North Korean soldier in weeks defects to South, say reports
South Korea’s defence ministry said on Friday that the Korean militaries completed removing 20 frontline guard posts and cleared land mines from a border area where they plan to start their first ever joint search for remains of soldiers killed during the 1950-53 Korean war. Although defections across the DMZ are rare, they have sometimes provoked a show of force from North Korea, bringing the risk of escalation in an area swarming with soldiers and weapons.
The Koreas and the US-led UN command recently finished removing firearms and troops from the jointly controlled area at the border village of Panmunjom, and eventually plan to allow tourists to freely move around it. Last year North Korean soldiers shot at the defector Oh Chong-song has he raced across the border; he barely escaped with his life and spent months in hospital. One month later another soldier crossed the border in heavy fog.
However there has not been any unusual response to the latest border crossing from North Korean troops in the area, South Korean officials said.
North KoreaNorth Korea
South KoreaSouth Korea
Asia PacificAsia Pacific
Donald TrumpDonald Trump
Kim Jong-unKim Jong-un
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