A North Korean soldier defected to the South Tuesday at approximately 11:18pm, when he was spotted approaching Dorasan Station, the sight of a visit Wednesday afternoon by President Kim Dae-jung and US President Bush. The defector is reportedly a twenty-two year old corporal in the North Korean Peoples¡¯ Army by the name of Ju Song Il. He was in possession of two AK-47s at the time.
The Korean media had been asked to withhold news of the development until after President Bush departs from Korea Thursday morning, with a source citing American concerns reportedly expressed through the US embassy. According to the source, the Americans were concerned that if the defection were made public, the North might accuse President Bush of kidnapping one of their soldiers, or that it might launch a manhunt to capture the defector, complicating security for the visit by the two leaders Wednesday afternoon.
Hearing gunshots on the North¡¯s side of defense lines Tuesday night, ROK soldiers were working to reinforce security around the area when they spotted a North Korean soldier walking in their direction. When the individual crossed the Military Demarcation Line (MDL), Southern forces confirmed his intention to defect and took him from the area.
In ongoing questioning, the defector has reportedly said he had known President Bush would be visiting the South, but that he had no idea that only half a day later Bush would be arriving at the same spot he had chosen to cross over to the south with two assualt rifles, one of which he fired seven times to alert Southern forces of his arrival. He said that he had left his post with three AK-47s, but that he discarded one of them to lighten his load.
(Yu Yong-won, kysu@chosun.com )
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