Defecting North Korean soldier critical
after escape in hail of bullets
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[November 14, 2017]
By Christine Kim
SEOUL (Reuters) - A North Korean soldier is
expected to survive critical wounds he received when his old comrades
fired a hail of bullets at him as he made a defection dash to South
Korea, the South's government and military said on Tuesday.
The soldier had on Monday sped toward the border in a "peace village" in
the heavily guarded demilitarized zone, in a four-wheel drive vehicle.
But when a wheel came loose, he fled on foot as four North Korean
soldiers fired about 40 rounds at him, said Suh Wook, chief director of
operations at South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff, briefing lawmakers.
"Until this morning, we heard he had no consciousness and was unable to
breathe on his own but his life can be saved," Suh said.
Surgeons had removed five bullets from the soldier's body, leaving two
inside, Suh added, to murmurs from lawmakers who said the soldier's
escape was "right out of a movie".
The soldier took cover behind a South Korean structure in a Joint
Security Area (JSA) inside the demilitarized zone between the two
Koreas.
South Korean and U.S. soldiers, fearing more North Korean fire, later
crawled to him to rescue him, the United Nations Command said in a
separate statement.
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North Korea has not said anything about the soldier. Its military had
not given any indication of unusual movements on Tuesday, the South's
military said.
While on average more than 1,000 North Koreans defect to the South every
year, most travel via China and it is unusual for a North Korean to
cross the land border dividing the two Koreas, which have been in a
technical state of war since their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce,
not a peace treaty.
The U.N. Command, in place since the end of the war, said an
investigation into the incident was being conducted.
South Korean Defence Minister Song Young-moo said it was the first time
North Korean soldiers had fired toward the South's side of the JSA,
prompting complaints from some lawmakers that the South's military
should have returned fire.
Moon Sang-gyun, the South's defense ministry spokesman, said military
operations at the JSA were usually conducted under the orders of the
U.N. Command, which is in turn under orders from the U.S. military.
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A South Korean soldier talks with a surgeon at a hospital where a
North Korean soldier who defected to the South is hospitalized. Hong
Ki-won/Yonhap via REUTERS
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INTESTINAL DAMAGE
The soldier, who was not armed, was flown in a U.N. Command
helicopter to an operating theater where doctors began working to
save him even before he was out of a uniform that indicated he held
a lower rank, Suh said.
South Korean officials have yet to identify where the soldier came
from or what his intentions were.
Lee Cook-jong, the surgeon in charge of the soldier's care at the
Ajou University Hospital, told reporters he was suffering from
critical intestinal damage.
Hospital officials where under strict security agency orders not to
talk to media and all updates on the soldier had to be through the
military, workers there told Reuters.
Dr Lee had been "given a talking-to" after a brief exchange with the
media, the hospital workers said.
The U.N. military armistice commission said it had informed the
North Korean military that the soldier, who was found about 50
meters (150 feet) south of a Military Demarcation Line, was
undergoing surgery for his wounds.
Suh said the South had also informed the North on Monday of the
soldier and his treatment, via loudspeakers on the border.
North Korea has in the past complained that North Korean defectors
had been abducted by South Korea, and it has demanded their release.
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This month, the North demanded that South Korea return 12 waitresses
it said had been kidnapped while working in China in 2016. South
Korea said the 12 women, and one man, had chosen to defect to the
South.
Monday was the first time since 2007 a North Korean soldier had
defected across the JSA.
(Reporting by Christine Kim; Additional reporting by Cynthia Kim,
Yuna Park and Heekyong Yang; Editing by Michael Perry and Robert
Birsel)
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