Update: See One Free Korea and ROK Drop
Here is something you do not see everyday (Yonhap):
SEOUL, April 28 (Yonhap) — A North Korean soldier has defected to South Korea through the inter-Korean border, marking the first defection by a military officer via the heavily-fortified border in 10 years, an official at the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Monday.
The North Korean, identified only by his surname Ri, crossed the border shortly before 5 p.m. Sunday and told South Korean guards that he was seeking asylum, the official said, asking not to be identified.
The 28-year-old second lieutenant has been handed over to a joint investigation team of the National Intelligence Service, the Military Security Command and the police, according to the official.
He had serious cajones to cross the DMZ. While this is not the first time for crossings, it is very risky and pretty rare. I have heard of other defections across the DMZ, this is the first time I have seen it in the new news. According to the same Yonhap article the last defection was around 1998, but an enlisted crossed lat year? I never saw anything about that, so I will have to look that up:
The North Korean is the first commissioned officer to defect to South Korea through the border since 1998 when a first lieutenant crossed the border, according to JCS officials. An enlisted member of the North’s Korean People’s Army crossed the border last year.
Do crossings along the DMZ only count for officers? I am not very clear on that, but all the same, it is still pretty interesting. Furthermore, I am also wondering where he crossed and what prompted him to cross. While I can guess he was tired of the regime, the details would be very interesting. I will keep my eyes peeled on more information. The minefield, the electric fence and the border guards would mean this man must of been itching to cross obviously.
If other readers have more information about this defection, please let me know.
Update - One Free Korea did a little more digging around and found some links to some DailyNK sources to help explain the defection which is likely linked to the serious food problem. Food prices all around the world have skyrocketed and is causing civil unrest according to the UN, and if free and relatively free nations are facing a crisis of a magnitude worthy of a mention on front page news, just imagine the difficulties for the DPRK who suffer serious shortages, little international trade and diplomatic ties to begin with.
Now as I posted here many times before, the KPA, elites and policy elites in North Korea keep the regime going, and if the state cannot provide food even for them, how can they continue to keep the normal population in check? Common sense tells me it is very difficult to do so. As the food situation seems to worsen (I do not know why the food problem is worldwide), North Korea on a cash and carry only basis surely cannot import food and aid has slowed to a small trickle. A+B=C; People will be malnourished and will look for food elsewhere.
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