![The area surrounding a loudspeaker used for anti-South Korea broadcasts in Kaepung County, North Hwanghae Province in North Korea is seen from the Odusan Unification Observatory in Paju, Gyeonggi, on July 29. [YONHAP]](https://www.koreadailyus.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/0731-Odusan.jpg)
A North Korean man who crossed the inter-Korean border earlier this month has expressed a clear intent to defect to the South, marking the first known case of a walk-in defection under the Lee Jae Myung administration.
According to an intelligence official who spoke to the JoongAng Ilbo on July 30, the man-made his intentions known during a joint interrogation with South Korean authorities.
He was first detected by military surveillance equipment near the military demarcation line between 3 and 4 a.m. on July 3 in the central-western front of the inter-Korean border.
Troops found him in a shallow stream approximately one meter (3.3 feet) deep in that region.
The South Korean military tracked the man using thermal observation devices and dispatched an operation team to the area.
“Who are you?” the man reportedly asked upon the operation team’s approach.
“We are the Republic of Korea Armed Forces. We will guide you to safety,” they told him, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).
The operation lasted until around 11 p.m. the same day, continuing for about 20 hours from the time of initial detection. The man reportedly identified himself as a civilian and was unarmed at the time of the crossing.
Two conscripted soldiers who contributed to securing the man’s custody were awarded 29 nights and 30 days of special vacation, the military announced on July 23.
Under military service regulations, soldiers may receive up to one month of leave if they contribute to high-profile operations such as guiding defectors.
The JCS also said it would issue commendations to 10 troops who participated in the operation.
![North Koreans return to the North in a vessel through the East Sea on July 9. The South Korean government announced it had repatriated six North Koreans rescued south of the Northern Limit Line in the Yellow and East Seas in March and May. [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/07/31/c81b4966-e484-48ba-b488-e20a235095e6.jpg)
In contrast to this defection, the South Korean government earlier this month repatriated six North Koreans who expressed a strong desire to return home.
The government returned the individuals on July 9 via the East Sea, despite a lack of direct communication channels with Pyongyang.
The six had been rescued in March and May near the Northern Limit Line in both the Yellow Sea and East Sea, and reportedly expressed their intent to return from the start of their investigations.
BY PARK HYUN-JU [kim.juyeon2@joongang.co.kr]
