North Korean Army Defects To South Korea, Breaks Military Border

JAKARTA - A North Korean soldier defected to South Korea by crossing the military border on the eastern part of the Korean peninsula.

Reuters quoted a Yonhap news agency report as saying the army crossed into the Goseong area on the east coast bordering North Korea and was detained by South Korean guards who had monitored its movements.

A South Korean defense ministry official said the military detained someone believed to be North Korean on Tuesday, August 20. But the official declined to provide further details.

Yonhap reported the North Korean soldier was a sandwich staff.

A North Korean previously defected to South Korea earlier this month on the west coast. North Korean defection across the border is considered risky and relatively rare and most North Koreans fleeing to South Korea via China or other third countries.