South Korean defects to North
Tue Oct 27 2009 17:35:34
In a rare move, a South Korean man has defected to the communist North by crossing the heavily mined border.
The man, who worked for Samsung Electronics and more recently at a pig farm, walked through the land-mined filled Demilitarised Zone that divides the peninsula.
Defections from the South to the North are very rare, with the last one thought to have taken place four years ago.
The North's KCNA news agency said: "He is beside himself with joy for having accomplished this heroic deed. He is now under the warm care of a relevant organ."
Since 2006, more than 2,000 North Koreans a year have defected to the South after crossing the longer and less perilous border with China.
© Independent Television News Limited 2009. All rights reserved.
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In a rare move, a South Korean man has gone to live in secretive Communist North Korea. The state says he's 'beside himself with joy' at defecting.
