North Korean man detained after crossing land border with South

A North Korean civilian crossed the land border with South Korea at the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) on Thursday (3) and was detained after a lengthy surveillance operation, South Korean military authorities said.

“The military identified the individual near the Military Demarcation Line and conducted a tracking and surveillance operation before his capture,” the South Korean General Staff said in a statement.

The operation lasted nearly 20 hours, according to Seoul. The army deployed a considerable number of soldiers in a difficult area due to the density of vegetation and the possible presence of mines.

The Army highlighted that “the competent authorities” will investigate the circumstances of the events, which occurred in the center-west of the demarcation line.

North Koreans arriving in the South are often interrogated by Seoul's intelligence services.

The vast majority of transit to the South occurs via China, or a third country.

Crossings across the demarcation line, a 4km-wide, mine-infested buffer zone between the two Koreas, are highly unusual.

Since the Korean War (1950-1953), more than 34,000 North Koreans have fled to the capitalist South.

In his inauguration speech in June, South Korea's new center-left president, Lee Jae-myung, said he intended to reach out to North Korea, in a tone very different from that of his predecessor, the ousted Yoon Suk Yeol.

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