N. Korea replaces border guards after soldier’s defection

Seoul, Nov. 23 (IANS): North Korea is believed to have replaced all border security guards after one of its soldiers defected to the South through the guarded Joint Security Area.

A North Korean soldier was shot and wounded by his fellow soldiers on November 13 when he sought to cross the heavily guarded inter-Korean border to defect. The replacement seems to be a response to their failure to deter his escape, Yonhap news agency reported.

“Signs were detected that North Korea has replaced all border security officials following the defection,” a source told the news agency.

“Given this situation, commanders of the responsible military unit and senior officers might have undergone punishment.”

The UN Command (UNC) said on Wednesday that North Korea clearly violated the 1953 Armistice Agreement twice last week when its border guards tried to hunt down the soldier fleeing to South Korea via the truce village of Panmunjom.

The defector drove a jeep southwards in an apparent bid to cross the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) but exited the vehicle near the border after its wheel seemed to come loose, according to a video clip released by the UNC.

Four armed North Korean guards chased the defector, who tried to dash toward the South. He was shot five times and some of the gunshots flew over the MDL. A North Korean guard also crossed the MDL for a few seconds and then returned to the North’s side.

It was a rare defection through the JSA in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that bisects the two Koreas.

The intelligence source also said that North Korea appears to have temporarily closed the so-called 72-hour bridge over which the defector drove the jeep at high speed to reach the northern side of the JSA.