Wounded North Korean defector transferred
to South Korean military hospital
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[December 16, 2017]
By Heekyong Yang
SEOUL (Reuters) - A North Korean soldier
who suffered critical gunshot wounds during a defection dash across the
border to South Korea has been transferred to a military hospital, a
South Korean intelligence official said on Saturday.
The North Korean soldier, 24-year-old Oh Chong Song, was transferred to
the military hospital on Friday from a trauma center at Ajou University
Hospital south of Seoul, where his treatment for gunshot wounds and
pre-existing conditions included two major operations.
"Oh has been transferred to South Korea's military hospital and South
Korea's intelligence services will soon schedule the security
questioning process depending on Oh's condition," the intelligence
official told Reuters.
The official, who declined to be identified, also declined to provide a
specific schedule for Oh's questioning.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2017/Dec/16/images/ads/current/pest_control_bch_092414.png)
Oh was shot and badly wounded by his fellow North Korean soldiers while
fleeing across the border into the South in November.
Three South Korean soldiers brought Oh to safety and he was immediately
taken aboard a U.S. Black Hawk military helicopter and rushed into
surgery.
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![](../images/121617pics/news_m19.jpg)
A CCTV footage shows a North Korean soldier crossing the white
Military Demarcation Line during a United Nations Command (UNC)
briefing on the investigation results of the soldierŐs defection, at
the South Korean defence ministry in Seoul in this still image taken
from a Reuters TV video, November 22, 2017. REUTERS/Reuters TV
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2017/Dec/16/images/ads/current/watkins_lda_CHRISTMAS_2017.png)
"Medical staff at the Armed Forces Hospital will continue to provide
proper care and treatment for Oh," a South Korean defense ministry
official.
Surgeon John Cook-Jong Lee accompanied Oh, along with a few South
Korean intelligence services agents and other medical crew, as he
was airlifted by a South Korean military helicopter to the Korean
Armed Forces Capital Hospital in Seongnam, south of Seoul.
"Oh is still recovering from two major surgeries and other minor
injuries. He has not gained full strength yet, but his condition has
been much stabilized," said a person familiar with Oh's condition,
who declined to be identified.
(Reporting by Heekyong Yang; Editing by Paul Tait)
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