Tens of thousands of North Koreans fled south since the peninsula was divided by the Korea War
He rescued and detained a North Korean trying to reach the country, said local authorities on Thursday (7). According to the South Korean army, he was tied to a piece of Styrofoam and managed to cross the sea border on the night of July 30.
The so-called North Limit line, on the west coast of the Korean Peninsula, has served as a route for several deserters trying to reach the Ganghwa Island in South Korea. The site, northwestern Seoul, is one of the nearest South Korean territories to North Korea-some regions are only 10 km from the border between the two countries.
According to the authorities, the individual gestured asking for help and told the Navy official that he questioned him that he wanted to desert to South Korea. The rescue would have occurred around 4 am on July 31, after 10 hours of operation.
Tens of thousands of North Koreans fled south since the peninsula was divided by the Korea War in the 1950s-mostly crossing the land for neighboring China and then to a third country, such as Thailand.
DESERTIONS BY THE EARTH BORDER ARE relatively rare, as the densely forested area is undermined and watched by soldiers on both sides. Even so, they occur-last month, a North Korean deserted south by crossing the military demarcation line.
Both countries have a complex relationship. Since the Korean War Armistice in 1953, nations remain technically in the truce of a conflict, as there was no peace agreement. Over these more than 50 years, there have been more turbulent periods and others of greater diplomatic cooperation.
In 2018, historical meetings between the two countries reached a military agreement to try to reduce tensions and avoid military climbing.
The pact, however, was completely abandoned last year, when Seoul decided to leave the deal after Pyongyang sends southern garbage balloons in response to inflatables with money and advertising that South Korean activists send to neighbors. Prior to that, by 2023, the deal was already weakened-in that year, Kim Jong-un left him after placing a spy satellite in orbit, leading South Korea to partially suspend the text.
Since then, the North has developed its nuclear arms arsenal and has stated that the south is its “main enemy”, no longer a future partner for reunification.
Tension should not decrease in a nearby horizon, even with the efforts of the new South Korean president, Lee Jae Myung, to improve relationships with Pyongyang and relive stagnant dialogue with his neighbor.
On Monday (4), for example, South Korea removed the speakers who transmitted North anti-coreium propaganda near the border in an attempt to reduce friction. However, Kim Yo-Jong, the powerful sister of the North Korean leader, said the measure was not “a work worthy of appreciation,” North Korea’s state news agency said KCNA.
The annual military exercises between South Korea and the United States, called Ulchi-Freedom Guardian, will take place from 18 August, said officials from Seoul on Thursday. They will be on a scale similar to the 2024 exercises and will test an improved response to North Korea’s nuclear threats.
