Fleeing soldier is shot and injured by his own troops – but successfully escapes across the heavily armed borderA North Korean soldier has been shot and injured during a rare but successful attempt to defect to South Korea by escaping across the countries’ heavily armed border. After hearing gunshots, South Korean soldiers found the defector about 50 metres south of the border truce village of Panmunjom. “Currently, there are no unusual signs in the North Korean military, but we are increasing alertness against the possibility of North Korean provocations,” the Yonhap news agency quoted a South Korean military official as saying. Three North Korean soldiers and one South Korean soldier died. South Korean authorities have not released his name or rank, but media reports said that his uniform suggested he was a low-ranking member of the North’s 1.2 million-strong army.

Source: The Guardian November 13, 2017 13:07 UTC