Foreign Policy

North Korean soldier defects by floating down river across DMZ

By Regina Barton
Published August 7, 2019 7:18pm ET
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North Korean soldier defects by floating down river across DMZ
A North Korean flag flies above a CCTV surveillance camera attached on the entrance gate at the North Korean Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Monday, March 13, 2017. Malaysia's health minister said Monday that the government will give relatives of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's estranged half brother two to three weeks to claim his body before deciding what to do with it. | (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

A North Korean soldier defected to South Korea after fleeing across the heavily fortified demilitarized zone between the two nations.

The unnamed soldier was spotted floating south down the Imjin River across the Military Demarcation Line around 11:38 p.m. last Wednesday night, when the South Korean military took him into custody.

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North Korea South Korea