North Korean officer defects to South Korea
South Korea says a North Korean soldier has defected to the South across the heavily fortified border dividing the countries. The defection is the first in nearly 10 years. An official at the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff says the North Korean officer approached a South Korean guard post Sunday on the western part of the frontier. The official declined Monday to give any further details, and spoke on condition of anonymity because the case is still being investigated. The North's 1.1 million-member military is the backbone of leader Kim Jong Il's totalitarian rule. |
