Rare DMZ Defection: North Korean Soldier Crosses Into South, Seeks Asylum
AP News|Oct 19, 2025
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A North Korean soldier crossed the heavily fortified DMZ and surrendered to South Korean forces, expressing a desire to resettle in the South. Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the soldier crossed the central sector of the land border on Sunday — the first reported land-border defection by a North Korean soldier since August 2024. Land crossings are rare due to mines, traps, fences and heavy troop presence; most of the ~34,000 North Korean defectors historically entered via China.
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