North Korea is being accused of violating an armistice agreement after its soldiers fired across the line that divides North and South Korea while chasing after a defector.
The United Nations Command (UNC) in South Korea released the dramatic footage on Wednesday that showed a North Korean soldier chased by border guards as he crossed the fortified demilitarized zone
The soldier, whose rank and identity have not been disclosed, was flown by a US military helicopter to a hospital after his escape to South Korea in a hail of bullets fired by North Korean soldiers on November 13.
North Korea is accused violating an armistice agreement after its soldiers fired across the line that divides North and South Korea while chasing after a defector.
The solider was seen driving his Jeep past checkpoints manned by North Korean guards (pictured) before crashing his vehicle into a ditch and fleeing on foot
Moments later, a handful of North Korean soldiers are seen running to toward the abandoned vehicle and stopping to open fire
The solider collapsed 50 meters south of the Military Demarcation Line (MDL), the border between the two Koreas (pictured)
An official from UNC said the North Korea had been informed on Wednesday that it had violated the 1953 armistice agreement, which marked the cessation of hostilities in the Korean War.
The UNC official told a news conference that a soldier from the North Korean People’s Army (KPA) had crossed the Military Demarcation Line (MDL), the border between the two Koreas, for a few seconds as others fired shots at the defecting soldier.
‘The key findings of the special investigation team are that the KPA violated the armistice agreement by one, firing weapons across the MDL, and two, by actually crossing the MDL temporarily,’ Chad Carroll, Director of Public Affairs for the UNC, told reporters.
In the shocking video, a military Jeep is seen speeding toward the border, passing checkpoints manned by North Korean guards, before appearing to get stuck in a ditch.
North Korean soldiers were only a few meters away when the defector jumped from the vehicle and fled on foot, scrambling up slightly rising ground to cross the border.
Three South Korean troops, including the deputy commander of the border security unit, are seen crawling through undergrowth to drag the wounded North Korean to safety
The soldier, who was shot five times and underwent multiple surgeries, has regained consciousness but needs further treatment
North Korea was accused on Wednesday of violating the 1953 armistice agreement after a border guard crossed the MDL for a few seconds before crossing back over
Moments later, a handful of North Korean soldiers are seen running to toward the abandoned vehicle and stopping to open fire, with one appearing to briefly cross the dividing line between the two countries before turning around.
The video does not show the moment when the defector was hit by half a dozen rounds fired by the North Korean guards, but he eventually collapses next to a concrete wall.
Three South Korean troops, including the deputy commander of the border security unit, are seen crawling through undergrowth to drag the wounded North Korean to safety.
The soldier, who was shot five times and underwent multiple surgeries, has regained consciousness but needs further treatment, his surgeon Lee Guk-jong, said in a separate news conference Wednesday.
Doctor Lee Guk-jong said the North Korean soldier who defected across the heavily guarded border this week was riddled with parasites
This map shows where the North Korean soldier crashed his video and where he collapsed after crossing the MDL
‘He came to South Korea with his own will,’ Lee said. ‘The reason why he came here while dying would probably be because he was expecting some positive sides of South Korea, not where a patient in critical condition can’t be taken in because there is nowhere to go.’
Last week, doctors said the soldier sustained five gunshot wounds on his right buttock, left armpit, back shoulder, right upper arm and right knee.
The defector was also found to have dozens of parasites, some as long as 27 centimeters, in his ruptured intestines, which may be reflective of poor nutrition and health in North Korea’s military.