South Korea Says Man Who Crossed Armed Border Is Previous Defector From North Korea

North Korean soldiers (top) look toward the South as a South Korean soldier (bottom) stands guard at the truce village of Panmunjom inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas on Aug. 28, 2019. KIM HONG-JI/AFP via Getty Images

South Korea’s Defense Ministry on Jan. 3 said a man spotted crossing the eastern inter-Korean border into North Korea on New Year’s Day is presumed to be a North Korean defector who previously entered South Korea via the same route.

On Jan. 2, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said an unidentified person was spotted crossing the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), which separates the two Koreas, at around 9:20 a.m. local time on Jan. 1, prompting the military to carry out a search operation to capture the person, which failed.