As South Korea and North Korea continue to work on improving their relations, a little mystery has dominated the headlines over the weekend.
An unidentified person crossed the border from South Korea into North Korea. The area is heavily militarized. For a few hours, the story was the object of all kinds of intrigue.
North Korea defector makes the trip back in the other direction.
As it turns out, the person who made this risky trip on New Year’s Day did the same one in the other direction in late 2020.
The crucial information is coming from a source close to the South Korean military.
The defense professional said the previously unidentified individual is a man who crossed into South Korea in November 2020.
Local media reports that the man worked as a cleaner and was facing a tough economic situation.
It is claimed that the man is a former gymnast, and he was seen crawling over a barbed-wire fence.
However, after he was detected by the surveillance system, the South Korean troops failed to catch him.
Moreover, his presence went unnoticed for at least three hours.
The Ministry of National Defense has confirmed the information. The situation is quite sensitive because defection in this direction is quite rare.
In the past 25 years, close to 34,000 North Koreans found a home in the south of the peninsula after fleeing poverty and oppression.
South Korea has reportedly reached out to its neighbor to inquire about the man’s well-being.
It has not gotten a response.
North Korea takes tough stance on border issue.
North Korea has been more aggressive when it comes to border crossings in recent years, especially in light of the coronavirus.
Seoul has adopted a milder posture on the issue. When the same defector crossed into South Korea, it took security forces 14 hours to detain him.
The incident led to a review of such lapses. It seems that almost 13 months later, the problem has not been properly addressed.
In September 2020, North Korea shot and killed a South Korean fisheries official for floating its water. Pyongyang apologized for the error and blamed its anti-COVID policies for the incident.
The tragic event confirms that the border issue is not a subject that can be ignored.
In June, South Korea had also announced plans to beef up security at the border.
South Korea is still eyeing progress on peace talks.
All of this is happening as South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who is leaving office later this year, has vowed to advance the peace process in the upcoming months.
However, Pyongyang remains silent on the matter, and it is unclear if North Korean leader Kim Jong Un feels the same way.
In a New Year Eve’s address to his country, he has failed to cover the topic. North Korea remains distrustful of the south, especially because of its close ally, the United States of America.
Leaders from the two countries met in 2018 and 2019. While the exchanges were moving in the right direction, talks stalled because Seoul tried to bring up the denuclearization process in the negotiations.
North Korea is not ready to discuss giving up its nuclear weapons. Seoul is not going to solve the problem quickly, and Pyongyang has a lot of patience.
The North Korean leader has the upper hand for now, and he knows it.
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