Tag: defection

defection

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Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul speaks during a plenary session of the diplomacy and unification committee at the National Assembly in Seoul on Feb. 26. [YONHAP]

Seoul willing to accept two North Korean POWs captured by Ukraine if they truly want to defect: Foreign minister

Seoul is open to accepting two North Korean soldiers captured by Ukrainian forces — but only if they formally express their intention to defect, Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul said Wednesday.

2025.2.26

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, right, and Cuban President Miguel Mario Diaz-Canel Bermudez hold up their hands as they watch a mass games performance in Pyongyang on Nov. 5, 2018, in a photo from the North's Rodong Sinmun newspaper. [YONHAP]

Senior North Korean diplomat to Cuba defects to South

A senior North Korean diplomat stationed in Cuba defected to South Korea with his family in November, becoming the highest-ranking North Korean diplomat to escape to the South since 2016.

2024.7.16

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Lee Nak-yon, center, a former prime minister, announces his departure from the liberal Democratic Party (DP) at a press conference at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Thursday. [NEWS1]

Ex-Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon bolts from DP to create new party

Lee Nak-yon, a former chief of the liberal Democratic Party (DP), declared he would leave the party to create a new one on Thursday, citing disillusionment with the current state of the DP.

2024.1.11

Two South Korean soldiers face the North Korean side of the Joint Security Area (JSA) while a United Nations Command officer, right, leads a tour of the truce village of Panmunjom in Paju, South Korea on March 3. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

Unification Ministry to propose resumption of civilian tours to JSA

South Korea’s Unification Ministry plans to propose resuming civilian tours of the Joint Security Area (JSA) to the United Nations Command (UNC), according to a ministry official Sunday.

2023.11.5

A portrait of American soldier Travis King is displayed as his grandfather, Carl Gates, talks about his grandson on July 19 in Kenosha, Wisconsin. [AP]

North confirms it has U.S. soldier, claims he defected due to racism

North Korea said Wednesday that an American soldier crossed into its territory last month because of “inhuman maltreatment and racial discrimination” in the U.S. Army.

2023.8.16

United Nations Command Deputy Commander Lt. Gen. Andrew Harrison delivers a Remembrance Day speech at the United Nations Memorial Cemetery in Busan on Nov. 11, 2022. [YONHAP]

UNC confirms talks with North at JSA over G.I. who fled

The United Nations Command is in talks through an official channel with the North Korean military regarding the U.S. Army private who dashed into the North at the Joint Security Area last week, according to the British deputy commander of the force.

2023.7.24

British Lt. General Andrew Harrison, right, who serves as the deputy commander of the United Nations Command, guides South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup through the Joint Security Area (JSA) on April 25. [DEFENSE MINISTRY]

UNC makes contact with North over U.S. soldier: Report

The United Nations Command (UNC) has made contact with the North Korean military regarding the U.S. Army private who dashed into the North at the Joint Security Area (JSA) last week, according to the London-based Sunday Times on Saturday.

2023.7.23

South Korean soldiers assigned to the United Nations Command stand guard at the truce village of Panmunjom inside the Joint Security Area (JSA) in Paju, Gyeonggi, on Feb. 7. [YONHAP]

U.S. Army report suggests G.I.’s JSA dash was premeditated

North Korea’s military has not responded to the Pentagon’s queries about an American soldier who crossed into the North on Tuesday, but a leaked U.S. military report included details suggesting that he had planned his defection ahead of time.

2023.7.20

A South Korean soldier, left, and a U.S. soldier, right, face the North Korean side of the Joint Security Area (JSA) while a United Nations Command officer leads a tour of the truce village of Panmunjom in Paju, South Korea on Oct 4, 2022. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

U.S. soldier who bolted to North faced discipline at home

The U.S. soldier who crossed into North Korea on Tuesday was due to face military disciplinary action in the United States for assault charges that arose during his tour of duty in Korea, the U.S. Defense Department said.

2023.7.19

South Korean soldiers stand guard during a media tour at the Joint Security Area (JSA) on the demilitarized zone (DMZ) in the border village of Panmunjom in Paju, South Korea in this file photo dated March 3. [AP]

U.S. soldier defects to North Korea at border: UN Command

A U.S. soldier crossed into North Korea “willfully and without authorization” through the Joint Security Area (JSA) on the inter-Korean border on Tuesday, according to U.S. and international officials.

2023.7.18