The recent crossing over of North Korean soldiers to South Korea, are raising questions over the serious flaws in the latter’s border defense. Reports state that last Tuesday another North Korean soldier defected over the border that was heavily armed, but the South Korean troops were allegedly unaware of his movements until he had reached their observation post
The information on the defecting soldier was given by Kim Kwang Jin, who is the Democratic United Party lawmaker of the National Assembly’s Defense Committee.
Kim added that he confirmed the defection with a high ranking officer. The North Korean soldier was spotted on a surveillance camera screen, as he stood in front of an observation post on a military base along the demilitarized zone, and was soon arrested.
A barbed wire fence has been set up by the military, approximately 2 Km away from the military demarcation line and guard posts between the fences and the border. Reports go on to suggest that the defector was able to walk past the guard posts through barbed wire fences and managed to arrive at the observation post undetected. Kim argued that the South Korean troops could have been harmed if the defector was carrying hand grenades or any other weapons. On Saturday, a 17-year-old soldier had defected across the border after killing two senior officers on the Northern side.
