SEOUL: A North Korean man defected to the South yesterday, using a small wooden boat in a rare and risky crossing of the heavily patrolled maritime border in the Yellow Sea.
The man expressed his desire to defect after landing on the frontline South Korean island of Baengnyeong Island, the South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said.
The man is under investigation by security authorities.
Yonhap news agency quoted an unnamed JCS officer as saying the ship was “half-submerged” by the time it reached the island.
North Korean fishing vessels often stray across the border to be seized by the South Korean coastguard, who either repatriate the crew or allow them to stay depending on their preference. AFP
