The UN Command on Wednesday published several videos showing the escape of a North Korean defector who was shot at by his fellow soldiers while crossing the border to the South on November 13.
The footage captured by security cameras from the southern side of the border shows the moment the defector arrived in an SUV and ran across the border to South Korea, during which North Korean soldiers stationed in the area fired multiple shots at him.
The soldier, who was admitted to a hospital in South Korea with five gunshot wounds, regained consciousness on Tuesday after two life-saving operations, Efe news reported.
The man apparently tried to cross the border in his SUV at the Joint Security area, which is the only point where soldiers from both sides stand face to face.
The two countries have technically been at war for almost 70 years.
According to the images, the SUV was stuck in a drainage ditch, a few meters from the border, and several North Korean soldiers were seen running after the vehicle.
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The soldier then got out of the SUV and ran across the border when four soldiers approached him and started firing at him from some distance away.
According to the UNC, North Korea violated the armistice agreement that halted the Korean War in 1953 because it fired towards the South and one of its soldiers physically crossed the border while running after the defector.
Other images taken by a thermal camera show the defector being subsequently rescued by three South Korean soldiers who were crawling on the ground to avoid being shot.
The South Korean soldiers took the defector to a safe location before he was transferred by helicopter to a hospital in South Korea.
--IANS
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