Video shows dramatic defection of North Korean soldier

A North Korean soldier who defected across the JSA drives a military jeep across the 72-hour bridge in North Korean territory on Nov. 13. (video footage provided by UN Command)

UN Command releases CCTV footage of North Korean soldiers violating Armistice Agreement

Video footage released by the United Nations Command on Nov. 22 offered vivid evidence of the tense situation at the Joint Security Area (JSA) at Panmunjeom when a North Korean soldier defected there on the afternoon of Nov. 13. The closed-circuit video footage shows the soldier appearing three minutes earlier than the 3:14 pm time when the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) claimed on Nov. 14 to have ascertained the situation.

The soldier’s black military jeep is shown traveling at a high speed along a road through rice patties toward 72-Hour Bridge. While there is no way of knowing when North Korean troops grasped the situation, soldiers on the North Korean side are seen rushing out as the vehicle passed by a checkpoint building. Located at the western end of Panmunjeom, 72-Hour Bridge stretches over a sandy stream and was reportedly built by North Korean soldiers in a period of just 72 hours in 1976.

North Korean soldiers rush from Panmungak at the JSA to intercept the defecting soldier. (video footage provided by UN Command)

After crossing the bridge, the vehicle is seen making a sharp right turn in front of a monument on the JSA’s North Korean side featuring calligraphy by Kim Il-sung. Just before the Military Demarcation Line (MDL), the vehicle is seen stuck, its wheels caught in a drainage ditch 10 meters to the line’s north.

The next part of the footage shows four North Korean soldiers who had been at the North Korean Panmungak building and a nearby guard post dashing toward the vehicle in apparent surprise. When the defecting soldier gets out of the car and begins running toward the MDL, there is a tense moment when the pursuing North Korean soldiers come within five or six meters of him. After the defector crosses the MDL, the pursuers open fire. One soldier carrying an AK-47 immediately drops to the ground to take careful aim while the other three, standing or sitting to both sides, fire their pistols. According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the pursuers fired over 40 rounds during this process.

The North Korean defector leaves the jeep, which had crashed into a drainage, and races toward South Korean territory. (video footage provided by UN Command)

While in pursuit of the defector, the North Korean soldier who had fired from a prone position momentarily crosses the MDL. Apparently shocked to realize this, the soldier is seen hurriedly crossing back to the northern side and then disappearing around the corner of a building. This soldier appears to have been on the southern side of the border for about four or five seconds. The UN Command has accused the North Korean troops of “violating the armistice agreement” by firing south of the border and by crossing the MDL.

A North Korean soldier who had crossed the MDL in pursuit of the defector hurriedly re-crosses the line back into North Korea. (video footage provided by UN Command)

The release of the video footage will likely lay to rest some questions that have been raised by politicians. Defense Minister Song Young-moo made remarks to the National Assembly’s National Defense Committee on Nov. 14 acknowledging that North Korean bullets had flown south of the border, which seemed to contradict a military official who had said during a meeting with reporters the same day that no traces of shooting had been found.

Two South Korean non-commissioned officers crawl to recover the North Korean defector, who lay wounded 50 meters inside South Korean territory after being shot during his escape. (video footage provided by UN Command)

The footage ends with a scene in which three officers from the South Korean guard detachment recover the defector, who has collapsed in a pile of leaves beside the wall of a building in the Joint Security Area. The commander of the guard detachment and two noncommissioned officers stay low to the ground as they move toward the defector, visible as white heat signatures since this was recorded on a thermal observation device. While the commander pauses, the two noncommissioned officers crawl forward and then drag the defector back to where the commander is waiting, before hurriedly loading the defector in a vehicle. This disproves reports by some newspapers that the commander was absent from the scene of the rescue.

While announcing the results of the investigation, Chad Carroll, the public affairs chief for UN Command, emphasized that the UN Command supports the strategic decision of the commander of the South Korean security detachment at the JSA to bring the conflict to an end without escalating it, in apparent response to criticism of the South Korean soldiers for not returning fire. The UN Command also emphasized that the response made by the members of the security detachment was faithful to the text and spirit of the armistice agreement, since it respected the demilitarized zone and prevented a battle from occurring.

This incident was investigated by a special inquiry team from the UN Command, including members from South Korea, the US, Australia and New Zealand. Swedish and Swiss observers from the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission were present throughout the entire investigation, UN Command said.

　

By Kim Ji-eun, staff reporter

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