Daring Defector: Watch Brave North Korean Cross Border to Freedom Under Gunfire

Dramatic footage has emerged showing a North Korean military defector fleeing across the border to South Korea as he is pursued and shot at before being dragged to safety by troops from the other side.

Released on Wednesday by the UN command in the South, the CCTV video shows the soldier – who defected last week – driving towards the border village of Panmunjom.

The footage shows North Korea’s military vehicle speeding towards the border, passing checkpoints manned by North Korean guards before appearing to get stuck in a ditch on November 13. The defector then abandoned the vehicle and continued his escape on foot.

Infrared video shows the 24-year-old defector, identified only by his last name, Oh, being pulled to safety by allied soldiers.

The surveillance video also shows one of the North Korean guards step across the demarcation line, a violation of the ceasefire agreement, while chasing and shooting after the defector as he ran for freedom.

From Yahoo News:

Signed in 1953 by the U.N., North Korea and China, the Armistice Agreement put an end to the Korean War that stretched on for three years. The agreement states, “Neither side shall execute any hostile act within, from, or against the demilitarized zone. No person, military or civilian, shall be permitted to cross the military demarcation line unless specifically authorized to do so by the Military Armistice Commission.”

Although North Korea has announced its withdrawal from the agreement repeatedly since then, the U.N. has continuously argued that it is still in effect. The open fire across the demilitarized zone and crossing of the MDL shown in the video is therefore taken as a provocative violation of the ceasefire designed to ensure peace in the peninsula.

At least three North Korean soldiers have attempted to defect this year. The North Korean military has more than 1.2 million active soldiers and a further 7.7 million in reserves. It is one of the largest ground forces in the world.

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