A former North Korean soldier was shot by his former comrades for attempting to defect to South Korea across a demilitarized zone. The soldier reportedly left his post and tried to get to Freedom House on South Korea’s side of the border.
The soldier was reportedly defecting from a North Korean guard post at the Joint Security Area (JSA) on the heavily-guarded border between the two countries. The soldier is said to have left the North Korean guard post in front of Panmungak, on the border inside the demilitarized zone, and proceeded to move towards Freedom House on the South Korean side.
This is the third defection by a member of the North Korean military this year, following two soldiers who fled to South Korea separately in June. Prior to 2017, there had only been four military defectors from North Korea over the past five years: one in 2016, one in 2015 and two in 2012.
The defecting soldier is, fortunately, in South Korean custody. Although he was shot, he succeeded in making it to South Korea. He is injured, but alive. Robert Kelly, an associate professor at the Department of Political Science at Pusan National University, said the prominent defection and the shooting was “genuinely surprising.” Kelly added: “It’s fairly unusual, I can’t think of the last time (a defector was shot at) … it certainly adds to the tensions.”
Alerted by gunshots, South Korean guards found the North Korean soldier about 55 yards south of the borderline that bisects Panmunjom. He was taken to a hospital with gunshot wounds to an elbow and shoulder, South Korean officials said.
His defection took place amid a joint naval exercise involving three American aircraft carriers in waters off South Korea’s east coast. It was the first time in a decade that the United States Navy had mobilized three carrier groups in the same drill in the western Pacific, and it represented the show of force that President Trump has said Americans “hope to God we never have to use” against North Korea. –New York Times
The Joint Chiefs of Staff have also raised the alert levels running on the assumption that this defection will be seen as a provocation and heighten already sky-high tensions. “Our military has raised the alert level in anticipation of North Korean provocation. The military is maintaining a full readiness,” the Joint Chiefs of Staff statement said.
A military defector in N.K. must defy almost certain death if he is caught by his own country. Can’t the snowflakes, BLM, Hillary supporters, and the rest of the non-thinkers realize that socialist utopias are NOT. Why would someone risk death if the socialist utopia was a pleasant place to live? All the blame-America-first imbeciles need to move to the socialist or communist utopia of their choice. Good luck with that.
Cranerigger, our beloved leftists [I USE THAT TERM GRUDGINGLY] only need to go as far as Cuba to see what socialism/communism is really like. Cuba still has a Soviet-style economy and their own Soviet-style gulags.
That’ll teach that “pie face” not to RUNN-OFT!
No good, FAT, Gay butter-ball will just never learn to stop with all of the antics…
In North Korea, tourists are forbidden to video their soldiers because they are so thin. You can video Fearless Leader all you want as long as it is from the front and above the waist.
Antifa should be deported to North Korea.
Him, antifa and the rest of our libturds would get chewed up and spit out in any commie country.
I’m glad to hear that NK soldier survived and made it across the line. He’ll be OK. I wish him the best. Who the hell can blame him for defecting? There are reports out now of NK soldiers starving along with the civilians. For decades the Kim regime has had a policy of taking care of their military first. That’s the regime’s base of support. Now that support base has been called into question. I’d like to think maybe some senior NK generals will get together and launch a coup against the Kim family. That’s their only hope of avoiding a war.
I think a shooting war with NK just might not pan out exactly the way Little Fat Boy invisions it – remember how Saddam’s army was going to fight to the last man and the US military was going to burn in Iraq’s oil ocean …
Me thinks a whole lot of NK’s regular army will be surrendering when possible and that 7M of call up reserves won’t be answering the phone ….
IW, agreed. I think it was Napoleon who said, “An army can only march on its stomach.” NK’s soldiers are NOT being cared for like they used to be and that’s Porky’s power base. I can picture a huge percentage of the NK army surrendering just because they’re starving. When soldiers have to scavenge for food just to stay alive they’re not so likely to be so loyal to their ‘dear leader’.
I’ve stood on that porch looking the opposite way( toward NK). kudos to that soldier for getting across the border. I hope his family will be ok. The norks are starving their own people just to try to look good. What an idiot they have for a leader. I feel for the common people.
Babycatcher, I also wish him the best. I’ll bet that soldier was starving. Now the norks are starving their own military and that is the idiot leader’s power base. Sounds like someone needs to initiate a coup against Porky [NOD NOD, WINK WINK].
Professor Robert Kelly should be reminded of the incident of NOV 23, 1984. A visiting Soviet officer (guest of the North) named Matusak ran across the line in Panmunjom, defecting to South Korea. Matusak was not shot, but many of the North Korean soldiers chasing after him were killed or wounded, along with 1 American (WIA) and 1 South Korean (KIA) soldier.
I visited Panmunjom in DEC 1986 and the US soldier who was our tour guide related the incident. He was not at all sympathetic to Matusak (who was later settled in the USA) for causing the lethal 40 minute gun battle between the 2 sides.
See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_Security_Area#1980s
Unite the two sides of Korea as one nation. Nobody dies, both sides gain. US butt out.
Aljamo, I can support that ONLY if the Kim regime is totally overthrown and the NK military is completely disbanded. I have no problem with a united Korea that is FREE. But a united COMMUNIST Korea? FORGET IT!
Years ago I met a man that was an Armenian border guard who defected a few years before the Com Block collapsed. He said they always put two guards together and staggered them so you never got too close with anyone. He never believed in the communist system but said, “Never let them know what your thinking”. He played the game and said what was expected. One day his fellow guard never showed up as he said he was likely still drunk or hung over. He put down his AK47 and said to himself, “Todays the day”. He walked across the border. He made it to the US. Got a job as a roofer, lived out of his car, saved his money and got his own roofing business. He employed 20 people.
USA is not very far away from killing people trying to leave. Renouncing US citizenship used to be free because it was so rare.