Military under fire yet again over lax security
Soldiers patrol alongside a barbed wire fence in Cheorwon County in Gangwon Province in this Dec. 23, 2012, photo. / Korea Times file
By Park Han-sol
More questions about the military's surveillance and defense capabilities have been raised following a North Korean's suspected attempt to defect to the South by crossing the border on the east coast.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) announced Wednesday that it had detected a man crossing the border via surveillance equipment at around 7:26 p.m., Tuesday, near the fortified Military Demarcation Line in Goseong County, Gangwon Province.
The incident prompted the military to issue a “Jindogae 2” alert, a defense response to possible intrusion of North Korean armed forces and other provocation attempts, and begin an extensive manhunt operation.
The military remains at “Jindogae 3” level in normal times and raises the level to two when a Northern invasion is suspected. The highest alert level, “Jindogae 1” is issued when signs of enemy intrusion become certain.
“We safely captured the identified man at around 9:50 a.m., Wednesday. We will cooperate with relevant agencies to question the man about his border-crossing route and intention to defect,” the JCS said in a statement.
It said the man appeared to be a civilian and there was no physical clash between him and the South Korean troops who apprehended him.
The JSC added that no unusual moves by the North Korean military have been observed so far.
The incident has pointed to the military's lax security capabilities in front-line regions, as the North Korean was captured about 10 hours after his intrusion, during which he damaged the three-layer barbed wire fence protecting the border. It is suspected that sensors on the forward facing fences, which sound an alarm upon a physical contact, may have malfunctioned.
The JSC said it would conduct an inspection of units in the region to assess whether their defense posture was appropriate. If they are found to have been negligent, those responsible will be disciplined.
This is not the first time that the military has been under fire for lax border security.
In July, the military failed to notice and prevent a defector who was facing sexual assault allegations here from returning to the North, and only became aware of the incident after a report from North Korea's state media.
In June last year, a North Korean fishing boat carrying four sailors crossed the sea border and arrived in Samcheok Port, Gangwon Province, 130 kilometers south of the Northern Limit Line (NLL), without being detected by the military.
A North Korean soldier defected to the South in 2012 by walking across the border overnight and knocking on the door of a South Korean guard post to declare his intention to defect.