North Korea soldier's injuries not life-threatening: JCS

Defense Minister Song Young-moo briefs the National Assembly National Defense Committee, Tuesday, regarding a North Korean soldier's defection through the Joint Security Area the day before. / Yonhap

By Choi Ha-young

A North Korean soldier who suffered gunshot wounds while escaping to the South through the Joint Security Area has not fully regained consciousness, but the prognosis is positive, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), Tuesday.

A medical team led by Lee Guk-jong from Ajou University Hospital, has removed bullets from the soldier's body.

"The hospital will decide on whether to conduct additional surgery after seeing how he recovers over the next two to three days," JCS Chief Director of Operations Suh Wook said in a report to the National Assembly National Defense Committee.

Suh said the soldier has five bullet wounds ― two to his shoulders, two in his abdomen and one in his thigh ― which led to severe damage to internal organs. However, they are not life-threatening, he added.

"The soldier is on an artificial respirator," Suh said. Doctor Lee, however, told reporters the patient will have to fight for his survival over the next 10 days.

The JCS said South Korean soldiers serving at a guard post heard gunshots at 3:14 p.m., Monday. For a few seconds, four North Korean soldiers fired around 40 rounds at the defector, it said. It took only four to five seconds to run across the military demarcation line (MDL), according to the JCS.

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The defector drove to the border in a military vehicle, the United Nations Command (UNC) said in a press release the same day. "While driving, a tire of the vehicle was stuck in a drain and he exited the car," JCS spokesman Army Col. Roh Jae-cheon said. Then he continued fleeing south across the MDL as he was fired upon by other soldiers.

At 3:31 p.m., the South Korean military launched an operation to rescue the North Korean soldier, operating a camera to find out his exact location. Three soldiers crawled toward the defector who was lying in fallen leaves and dragged him into the South at 3:56 p.m.

At 4:13 p.m., South Korean and American forces received and transported the wounded soldier to the Ajou University Hospital in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province. A UNC security escort and translator accompanied the group.

Whether the North kept firing at the defector even after he crossed the MDL has not been confirmed. "If the North Koreans continued firing at the defector who entered the South, we should make an official protest," said Rep. Woo Sang-ho of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea.

UN Command Military Armistice Commission (UNCMAC), in charge of supervising the Armistice Agreement within the Demilitarized Zone, notified the North Korean authorities that the defector was undergoing medical treatment and said it will look into the incident.

"If the North dismisses our call for proper measures, we will take legal action and issue a statement," Defense Minister Song Young-moo said.

Lawmakers from the ruling and opposition parties commonly lauded the South Korean soldiers who promptly secured the defector at risk of their own lives. The two Koreas did not exchange gunfire and no South Korean or American soldiers were harmed during the incident.

"The accidental confrontation could have developed into a battle. The two Koreas should begin to talk via the UNCMAC," Rep. Woo said. "This shows why we have to reinstall the inter-Korean military communication network to manage volatile situations."

The defense ministry is planning to question the defector, including his motivation for defection once he regains consciousness.

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