N. Korean Soldier Crosses DMZ to Defect

A North Korean soldier crossed the country’s heavily guarded border to defect to South Korea on Monday, according to South Korean officials. The teenaged soldier approached the guard post inside the southern half of the 2.5-mile Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and no fire was exchanged, according to a defense ministry spokesman. More than 28,000 North Koreans have defected to South Korea since the late 1990s, but very few brave the heavily militarized DMZ, which is secured with landmines, guard posts, and barbed-wire fences. Most defectors travel via China and the last known defector to cross the DMZ was in 2012.