[Exclusive] Possibility of North Korean Men Moving South Through Drainage Under Coastal Fence

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] It has been reported that a North Korean man infiltrated South Korea wearing underwater gear such as a wetsuit and flippers. It is presumed that this man used a coastal drainage channel to evade our coastal surveillance system, raising concerns about a failure in coastal security.

According to government officials on the 17th, wetsuit and flippers were found on the coastline of Goseong, Gangwon Province, which is believed to be the location where the North Korean man infiltrated South Korea.

It appears highly likely that he moved south through a drainage channel under the barbed wire fence to avoid the coastal surveillance system installed between the Geumgangsan Rest Area and the Jejin checkpoint on the eastern coast. This method is the same as that used by Kim (24), who defected to North Korea through a drainage channel in Ganghwa Island in July last year. Although the military installed surveillance nets on the East Coast drainage channels after the Ganghwa Island defection incident last year, it is understood that some areas remain uncovered.

Earlier, one North Korean man was captured on CCTV at a checkpoint while moving south from the East Sea Civilian Control Line at around 4:20 a.m. the previous day. The military deployed operational forces and secured the man’s custody at around 7:20 a.m. During the investigation, he reportedly expressed his intention to defect.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff’s Combat Readiness Inspection Office is expected to conduct a joint inspection with the Ground Operations Command from the afternoon of the same day to determine whether there were any issues with the unit’s security posture. The day before, the Combat Readiness Inspection Office planned to start the inspection after receiving test results, as a military official at the Joint Chiefs of Staff tested positive for COVID-19 and had overlapping movements.

The unit where this incident occurred is the same location where a North Korean soldier defected by crossing the barbed wire fence in November last year, and where a North Korean soldier knocked on a military post door to express his intention to defect in October 2012, known as the “Knock Defection.”