A soldier from North Korea has defected to South Korea through the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) separating the two Koreas, making it the third such defection in just two weeks.
The soldier reached a Southern guard post, located in the middle sector of the MDL at around 9:30 pm on Friday local time, according to a statement by the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The desertion took place without incidents or exchange of gunfire between the military on both sides.
The soldier expressed his desire to defect when he reached the guard post and was questioned by the South Korean Army officers before being presented to the Ministry of Unification authorities, in charge of managing defections.
It is the second North Korean soldier who walked across the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) - a stretch of four kilometres full of landmines that divides both countries around the 38th parallel - in the last two weeks and he is also the third North Korean defecting in this manner during the mentioned period.
On June 13, another soldier crossed the DMZ on foot, while on June 18 a North Korean civilian defected to the South by swimming across the Han River delta on the eastern flank of the border.
It is unusual for the North Koreans to defect in this manner, because of the danger of crossing the heavily mined border, which is also intensely guarded by the armies of the two countries.
North and South Korea remain technically at war since the Korean War (1950-1953) ended with an armistice that has not been replaced with a peace treaty.
