North Korean soldier defects to the South because there is "no hope" in the North
Seoul (AsiaNews) - A teenage North Korean soldier defected after killing two of his superiors and crossing the heavily armed border to South Korea. The soldier fled on Sunday whilst on guard duty in the Demilitarised Zone near Kaesong. He told interrogators he did it because he saw "no hope" in the North. On the same day, North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un warned a group of top officers in Pyongyang about the danger "of soldiers' defections, an indelible blotch on our beloved flag." Very few North Korean soldiers have managed to flee over the years. In the past ten years, only eight were able to escape.
South Korean soldiers said they heard shots near the border, and saw a North Korean soldier indicating that he wanted to defect. Once over the border, he was taken to a secure place in the custody of South Korean counterintelligence.
On the border, South Korean forces were placed under higher alert, but so far, no unusual movements have been reported by the North Korean side.
In a statement, South Korea's Interior Ministry said the young soldier fled because of the disastrous situation in North Korea.
After years of mindless economic policies, and a disastrous revaluation of its currency, the country is on the edge of the precipice. According to United Nations, about half of the population (estimated at 22 million) lives on less than a dollar a day.
China, North Korea's greater protector since the fall of the Soviet Union, recently told its leaders that it was no longer willing to bankroll the regime, and that it had to implement reforms "like those adopted by Beijing under Deng Xiaoping". However, for now, change is not likely.
The soldier who defected said that when he compared the living standards of southern workers with those of the north, he saw "no hope" in the North. Many in the North share his view.
Over the last 60 years, more than 24,000 North Koreans have escaped to the South, two thirds of them women. Since 1990, the flow of refugees has increased from less than one hundred to more than 2,000 in 2006. South Korea's greater economic development and it greater capability to respond to the North's military provocations is a factor in what is happening.
Until recently, would-be defectors followed the China route before moving to South Korea. However, in the past few months Beijing has tightened the screws and repatriated refugees.
South Korea has protested against China's move because deserters are usually executed once back in North Korea.
During the rule of North Korea's first dictator Kim Il-sung, North Koreans were convinced that they were superior to the South from a genetic, social and military point of view. Now perceptions are changing.
For its part, Seoul is not planning to stand idly by and has intensified its cooperation with Washington.
In the latest move on 1 October, the United States announced that it would provide South Korea with ballistic missiles with an 800-km range, enough to reach parts of China and Japan.
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