North Korean crosses the heavily fortified border to South Korea
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North Korean crosses the heavily fortified border to South Korea
South Korean authorities plan to investigate the border crossing and did not immediately say whether they view the incident as a defection attempt. Border tensions have flared in recent months as the two Koreas traded Cold War-style psychological warfare. In June last year, North Korean troops crossed the border three times, prompting South Korea to fire warning shots. In April, South Korean troops fired warning shots to repel about 10 North Korean soldiers who briefly crossed the military demarcation line. The South’s military said the soldiers returned to North Korean territory without incident and that the North didn’t return fire. The U.S.-led United Nations Command said it had not detected any immediate signs of unusual military activity by the North.
A North Korean military guard post, loudspeaker, top left, and South Korean army soldiers, bottom right, are seen from Paju, South Korea, near the border with North Korea, on June 12. (Ahn Young-joon | AP)
SEOUL, South Korea — An unidentified North Korean man crossed the heavily fortified land border separating the two Koreas and is in South Korean custody, the South’s military said Friday.
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The South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the military identified and tracked the individual near the central-west section of the military demarcation line and conducted a “guiding operation” before taking the person into custody Thursday night.
It said authorities plan to investigate the border crossing and did not immediately say whether they view the incident as a defection attempt.
The Joint Chiefs said it notified the U.S.-led United Nations Command about the incident and had not detected any immediate signs of unusual military activity by the North.
According to the Joint Chiefs, a South Korean military team approached the unarmed North Korean man after detecting him and, after identifying themselves as South Korean troops, guided him safely out of the mine-strewn Demilitarized Zone that divides the two Koreas.
Border tensions have flared in recent months as the two Koreas traded Cold War-style psychological warfare, with North Korea sending thousands of trash-filled balloons toward the South and South Korea blasting anti-Pyongyang propaganda through loudspeakers.
Since taking office last month, South Korea’s new liberal President Lee Jae Myung has made efforts to rebuild trust with North Korea, halting the frontline loudspeaker broadcasts and moving to ban activists from flying balloons carrying propaganda leaflets across the border.
In April, South Korean troops fired warning shots to repel about 10 North Korean soldiers who briefly crossed the military demarcation line. The South’s military said the soldiers returned to North Korean territory without incident and that the North didn’t return fire.
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In June last year, North Korean troops crossed the border three times, prompting South Korea to fire warning shots. Experts suggested these crossings may have been accidental, occurring as North Korean troops added anti-tank barriers, planted mines and carried out other work to bolster border defenses amid escalating tensions between the Koreas.
Diplomacy between the war-divided Koreas has derailed since the collapse of denuclearization talks between Washington and Pyongyang in 2019, which prompted North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to accelerate the expansion of his military nuclear program and threaten nuclear conflict toward Washington and Seoul. South Korea’s previous conservative government responded by strengthening its combined military exercises with the United States and Japan, which the North condemned as invasion rehearsals.
North Korean man arrested in South Korea after crossing border
An unidentified North Korean man has successfully crossed the heavily fortified land border into South Korea. The South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff reported that military personnel identified and tracked the individual near the central-west section of the military demarcation line on Thursday night. Authorities are now planning an investigation into the border crossing, though they have not yet confirmed whether the incident is being treated as an attempted defection. No unusual military activity has been detected from North Korea following the event.Border tensions have flared in recent months as the two Koreas traded Cold War-style psychological warfare.
An unidentified North Korean man has successfully crossed the heavily fortified land border into South Korea and is now in custody, the South Korean military confirmed on Friday.
The South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff reported that military personnel identified and tracked the individual near the central-west section of the military demarcation line on Thursday night.
A “guiding operation” was then conducted to bring the person into custody. Authorities are now planning an investigation into the border crossing, though they have not yet confirmed whether the incident is being treated as an attempted defection.
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Crucially, the Joint Chiefs added that no unusual military activity has been detected from North Korea following the event.
Border tensions have flared in recent months as the two Koreas traded Cold War-style psychological warfare, with North Korea sending thousands of trash-filled balloons toward the South and South Korea blasting anti-Pyongyang propaganda through loudspeakers.
A North Korean military guard post, loudspeaker, top left, and South Korean army soldiers, bottom right, are seen from Paju, South Korea, near the border with North Korea, on June 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon) (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)
Since taking office last month, South Korea’s new liberal President Lee Jae Myung has made efforts to rebuild trust with North Korea, halting the frontline loudspeaker broadcasts and moving to ban activists from flying balloons carrying propaganda leaflets across the border.
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In April, South Korean troops fired warning shots to repel about 10 North Korean soldiers who briefly crossed the military demarcation line. The South’s military said the soldiers returned to North Korean territory without incident and that the North didn’t return fire.
In June last year, North Korean troops crossed the border three times, prompting South Korea to fire warning shots. Experts suggested these crossings may have been accidental, occurring as North Korean troops added anti-tank barriers, planted mines and carried out other work to bolster border defenses amid escalating tensions between the Koreas.
Diplomacy between the war-divided Koreas has derailed since the collapse of denuclearization talks between Washington and Pyongyang in 2019, which prompted North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to accelerate the expansion of his military nuclear program and threaten nuclear conflict toward Washington and Seoul. South Korea’s previous conservative government responded by strengthening its combined military exercises with the United States and Japan, which the North condemned as invasion rehearsals.
North Korean man makes rare direct land crossing to South – DW – 07
A North Korean man has crossed the heavily fortified demilitarized zone to the South. The apparent defection is unusual because most people escape via China, not the heavily guarded border separating the two Koreas. About 34,000 North Koreans have defected to South Korea since the Korean War in the 1950s. South Korea’s President Lee Jae Myung has made efforts to rebuild trust with the North, including shutting down loudspeakers blasting propaganda against North Korea along the border. The entire operation, which involved a significant number of troops navigating dense vegetation and landmine hazards, took about 20 hours, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said. The heavily fortified buffer zone between North and South Korea — about 240 kilometers long and 4 kilometers wide — serves as the de facto border.
Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) on Friday said a North Korean civilian had defected across the heavily mined land border into South Korea, with the help of the South’s military in a 20-hour operation.
While tens of thousands have fled North Korea to the South since the peninsula was divided in the 1950s, most take an indirect route through China and a third country like Thailand.
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What do we know about the crossing?
The man was first detected by South Korean military surveillance equipment sometime between 3 and 4 a.m. (1800-1900 GMT/UTC on Wednesday) on Thursday near a shallow stream inside the DMZ.
He had mostly stayed still during daylight hours to avoid capture and was at times difficult to track because of the thick forest, the JCS said.
South Korean troops approached him that night and eventually made contact near the Military Demarcation Line, the de facto border within the DMZ.
“The military identified the individual near the MDL, conducted tracking and surveillance,” the JCS said. Troops then “successfully carried out a standard guiding operation to secure custody.”
When the man first noticed the soldiers, he asked, “Who are you?” The troops replied, “We are the South Korean military. We’ll guide you to safety.”
The man crossed the MDL and joined the South Korean troops, who then escorted him south out of the DMZ.
The entire operation, which involved a significant number of troops navigating dense vegetation and landmine hazards, took about 20 hours, the JCS said.
How do most people escape North Korea?
About 34,000 North Koreans have defected to South Korea since the Korean War in the 1950s.
However, fewer North Koreans have recently been able to cross the DMZ successfully.
Crossings directly through the 248-kilometer (155-mile) long, 4-kilometer-wide Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) are extremely rare and dangerous due to land mines, dense vegetation and constant military surveillance.
The heavily fortified buffer zone between North and South Korea — about 240 kilometers long and 4 kilometers wide — serves as the de facto border between the two countries, which technically remain at war since the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty.
While tens of thousands of North Koreans have fled their impoverished and tightly controlled homeland over the decades, most do so by entering China across the Yalu River in the west and the Tumen River in the east.
To avoid being unwillingly repatriated to the North by China, they then travel through third countries before reaching South Korea.
South Korea’s President Lee Jae Myung has made efforts to rebuild trust with the North, since taking office last month, including shutting down loudspeakers blasting propaganda against North Korea along the border.
Edited by: Sean Sinico
Politics: North Korean arrested after crossing the border in South Korea
The man is said to have crossed the inter-Korean border late on Thursday evening. He was initially detained there by the South Korean military. It is not yet clear whether this was a deliberate escape attempt. The two Koreas are separated by a demarcation line up to four kilometers wide. The number of North Korean refugees arriving in South Korea has been increasing again since 2023.
A North Korean has been arrested after crossing the heavily fortified border with South Korea. According to the official Yonhap news agency, the man is said to have crossed the inter-Korean border late on Thursday evening (local time). He was initially detained there by the South Korean military. The man’s exact background and motives are currently being investigated. It is not yet clear whether this was a deliberate escape attempt.
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Especially before the coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent border closure by North Korea, numerous North Koreans left their impoverished and authoritarian country every year in search of a better life. Most of them fled across the border to China. From there, many travel on to a third country in Southeast Asia and seek refuge in the South Korean embassy.
Crossing the inter-Korean border, on the other hand, is considered extremely dangerous and rare. The two Koreas are separated by a demarcation line up to four kilometers wide.
The number of North Korean refugees arriving in South Korea has been increasing again since 2023. According to figures from the Ministry of Unification in Seoul, a total of 236 North Koreans reached the neighboring country in the south via various routes in 2024. Before the pandemic, there were up to a thousand people per year.
North Korean man crosses heavily fortified DMZ border to South Korea
Unarmed man found in the central-west section of the Demilitarized Zone. He was guided by South Korean troops to safety, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said. No immediate signs of unusual military activity in North Korea, it added. Crossing between the two Koreas is relatively rare and extremely risky, as the border area is strewn with mines. It is more common for defectors to first travel across North Korea’s border with China, before heading on to South Korea. Last August, a North Korean soldier reportedly defected to the South and was taken into custody in the northeastern county of Goseong. The crossing comes a month after the liberal politician Lee Jae-myung was elected as the new South Korean president.
A North Korean man has crossed the heavily fortified land border with South Korea and is now being held in custody, the South Korean military has confirmed.
The unarmed individual was located on Thursday in the central-west section of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), before being guided by South Korean troops to safety, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Seoul’s army carried out “a standard guiding operation to secure custody”, a process that involved a considerable number of soldiers, it said.
After the North Korean was detected early on Thursday morning, the task of bringing him to safety took about 20 hours to complete, the Joint Chiefs of Staff added.
He was mainly still during the day, with South Korean soldiers approaching him at night, it noted.
Seoul has not commented on whether it viewed the border crossing as a defection attempt.
There were no immediate signs of unusual military activity in North Korea, the South Korean army said.
Crossing between the two Koreas is relatively rare and extremely risky, as the border area is strewn with mines.
It is more common for defectors to first travel across North Korea’s border with China, before heading on to South Korea.
Last August, a North Korean soldier reportedly defected to the South and was taken into custody in the northeastern county of Goseong.
And then in April, South Korean troops fired warning shots after roughly 10 North Korean soldiers briefly crossed the military demarcation line. Pyongyang’s officers returned to their own territory without returning fire, Seoul said.
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The crossing on Thursday comes a month after the liberal politician Lee Jae-myung was elected as the new South Korean president, following months of political chaos, which began with the conservative President Yoon Suk-yeol’s short-lived attempt to impose martial law in December.
Lee has taken a different stance from his predecessor on North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, promising to “open a communication channel with North Korea and establish peace on the Korean Peninsula through talks and cooperation”.
“Politics and diplomacy must be handled without emotion and approached with reason and logic,” he said on Thursday. “Completely cutting off dialogue is really a foolish thing to do.”
As part of his attempt to rebuild trust with his neighbour, Lee has banned loudspeaker broadcasts at the border and attempted to stop activists flying balloons with propaganda into North Korea.
However, it remains to be seen whether Kim will cooperate.
In response to Yoon’s decision to strengthen military alliances with Washington, DC, and Tokyo, Kim called South Korea his country’s “principal enemy” last January.
Diplomatic efforts have stalled on the Korean Peninsula since the collapse of denuclearisation talks between Washington and Pyongyang in 2019 during the first US President Donald Trump administration, after a series of Trump-Kim summits, globally watched spectacles that bore little concrete progress.