North Korea has reportedly replaced most... or even all,... of its soldiers stationed
at the Joint Security Area in the truce village of Panmunjom.
This comes after their collective failure to stop a soldier's defection to South Korea.
Park Jong-hong tells us more.
Most or all of the 40 North Korean border security officials at the Joint Security Area
have been switched out.
This is according to an unnamed South Korean intelligence official who also suggested that
senior level officials may have been reprimanded for the failure to stop a soldier from defecting
across the border.
The surveillance video made public by the United Nations Command on Wednesday shows
the defector's dramatic escape and North Korean soldiers shooting dozens of rounds at him
as he fled.
The UN Command noted North Korea's breach of the Armistice Agreement.
"They violated the Armistice Agreement by ... one, firing weapons across the MDL and
two, by actually crossing the MDL temporarily."
The defector is said to be in stable condition after two major surgeries on the gunshot wounds
he sustained.
After the rare defection through the JSA, many believe North Korean commanders and senior
level officials will most likely be held accountable.
In contrast, six South Korean and U.S. soldiers were awarded Army Commendation Medals by General
Vincent Brooks, the commander of the UN Command.
Meanwhile, in the wake of the defection, North Korea has temporarily sealed off the 72-Hour
Bridge, the only road that connects the North to the northern side of the JSA.
Driving a military jeep at high speed, it took the defector less than a minute to cross
the bridge.
The measure is apparently intended to tighten security and screen troops coming in and out
of the area.
Park Jong-hong, Arirang News.
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