A North Korean soldier defected to South Korea on Monday.
According to South Korean authorities, the soldier crossed the Military Demarcation Line on foot from the eastern North Korean province of Gangwon. The border between the two is considered the most heavily militarized in the world.
Further details were not immediately available. North Korean state media had no immediate reaction to the news of the defection, either.
North Korean soldiers have crossed the border into South Korea before. The last one was in 2012, when one soldier crossed the border unnoticed and knocked on the door of a South Korean barracks.
However, defections directly from North to South Korea are rare.
Separately, North Korea said Monday it was willing to hold talks with South Korea, though with conditions.
“If an atmosphere of trust and reconciliation is created between North and South Korea, there is no reason not to hold dialogue and negotiation between the two sides,” a North Korean government statement carried by state media said.
North Korea said it will also release two South Korean citizens this week, who entered North Korea illegally on May 11. The two went missing while traveling in China near the North Korean border, the South Korean government said.
(h/t CNN)
