South Korea has caught a North Korean man who crossed through a heavily fortified zone between the two countries filled with land mines, barbed wire, and other measures to prevent people from passing between the two countries. South Korea is now allegedly investigating whether the man tried to defect. The man was tracked by troops for three hours on Tuesday as he passed through the zone.
It is increasingly rare for North Korean nationals to defect to South Korea via the DMZ however, a similar incident occurred last November. It remains unclear if the man is a civilian or a member of the North Korean military. According to local media outlets, authorities had the man verify his story of how he crossed the border several times to determine whether he wanted to defect. The country will also investigate the security breach and determine how the man was able to cross over the highly fortified border.
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