North Korean defects to South by crossing Yellow Sea maritime border
The IndependentFor free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy A North Korean defected to South Korea crossing the maritime border in an apparent attempt to flee Kim Jong-un’s repressive regime, according to media reports. Ri Il Gyu, a former political counselor at the North Korean Embassy in Cuba who defected to South Korea last November, speaks during an interview Defence minister Shin Won-sik told parliament that the individual was tracked from the point of departure by the South Korean military, calling it a “successful defection”. It marks the latest defection 10 months after a group of North Koreans that included three women and one man crossed the maritime border from the east on a wooden boat in October 2023. In one of the high-profile defections, a North Korean diplomat in Cuba defected to South Korea with his family in November last year, the South Korean spy agency said last month.
History of this topic
North Korean defector steals bus to try and drive back after struggling to adapt to life in South
The Independent
North Korean soldier defects to South through heavily militarised border
The IndependentNorth Korea’s former No. 2 diplomat in Cuba describes his dramatic, swift defection
Associated Press
North Korean diplomat posted in Cuba defects to South Korea
The IndependentA North Korean diplomat in Cuba defected to South Korea in November, a possible blow to leader Kim
Associated Press
Number of North Korean defectors to South Korea triples in 2023, says Seoul
Hindustan Times
Four suspected North Korean defectors found in small boat in South Korean waters
The Hindu4 suspected North Korean defectors found in a small boat in South Korean waters
Associated Press
South Korea says North Korean defectors in China sent back to the North
The Hindu
Seoul: North Korea defector likely made rare border crossing
The Independent
South Korea: Unidentified individual crosses border into North Korea
Hindustan TimesSouth Korean man crosses armed DMZ border in rare defection to North Korea
ABC)
North Korean man swims undetected for six hours across beefed up border to defect to South
Firstpost
Lawmakers say North Korean diplomat defected to South Korea
Associated Press
High ranking North Korean diplomat ‘defects to South Korea’
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