One North Korean defector returned last month… came across the West Sea near Baekryeong Island by boat.

A scene where a ship that a North Korean resident boarded to return to the Northern Limit Line (NLL) in the East Sea in October 2023 is found. Yonhap News,
, ‘[Seoul Economy]’,
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, ‘Recently, it has been reported that three North Korean residents defected in the past two months.’,
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, ‘According to the military on the 11th, a North Korean male resident crossed the Northern Limit Line (NLL) near Baekryeong Island in the West Sea on the early morning of September 17th riding a small ship.’,
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, ‘This man defected alone, and the military captured him with surveillance equipment before crossing the NLL to induce his defection. A military official stated, “We carried out the operation properly from the beginning.”‘,
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, ‘Earlier on August 8th, a North Korean resident came to the South through the Han River estuary, and on August 20th, a North Korean soldier passed through the military demarcation line in the Gangwon Province Goseong area.’,
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, ‘North Korea has recently strengthened border security in the forward areas, blocked inter-Korean connections, and is advocating for fortress construction. Our military interprets this as measures to prevent internal unrest and personnel leakage, yet defections continue through various routes even in such circumstances.’,
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, ‘Since the end of last year, North Korea has been clearing mines around roads, removing streetlights, dismantling railways, and demolishing adjacent buildings in order to break off inter-Korean land connections.’,
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