Did North Korea Send a Pursuit Team After Soldier's Defection? MDL Incursion Suspected

Recently, when one North Korean soldier defected on the central front, several North Korean soldiers, believed to be a pursuit team, crossed the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) but returned after receiving warning shots from the South Korean military.

One North Korean soldier defected through a guard post (GP) adjacent to the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) on the mid-eastern front.

According to the military on the 24th, at around 7 a.m. on the 19th, one North Korean enlisted soldier expressed his intention to defect to the South Korean military through the central front in Gangwon Province. The military tracked and monitored him using thermal observation devices (TOD) and secured him according to established procedures. At the time, the Joint Chiefs of Staff stated, "There are no unusual movements by the North Korean military."

However, according to military sources, several armed North Korean soldiers approached as close as 200 meters to the front of a South Korean guard post (GP) after the defector arrived, having crossed the MDL. These armed North Korean soldiers are believed to have been a pursuit team chasing the defector.

The South Korean military issued a warning broadcast and then fired warning shots according to procedure, after which the North Korean soldiers reportedly returned to their side of the border.