North Korea's defector went undetected for hours as he took six-hour swim to South: Report

Joining thousands of people who attempted to leave the authoritarian regime of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and flee to the South, a North Korean defector reportedly wore a diving suit and fins to swim for six hours around one of the world’s most fortified borders. The notable incident of the defector was revealed by a Seoul official after catching the defector only after apparently falling asleep. 

As per the Yonhap news agency report on Tuesday, South Korean forces were not able to spot the defector despite reportedly him appearing several times on the CCTV. He was only apparently caught after he landed and triggered alarms. 

The incident further unleashed criticism from the media and the opposition MPs in Seoul. As per the report, even after the defector was caught, it took South Korean officials another three hours as the man used driving gear to make his way by the sea around the Demilitarized Zone that divides the peninsula. The man was reportedly in his 20s and landed north of the town of Goseong on the east coast.

"He presumably had swum for about six hours, wearing a padded jacket inside a diving suit and fins. His clothing appeared to have kept him warm and allowed him to stay afloat," an unnamed Joint Chiefs of Staff official was quoted as saying by Yonhap news agency on Tuesday.

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Tidal currents favoured the man

Reportedly, it was the tidal currents that worked in favour of the man and he gave up most of his equipment before making his way through a drainage channel under the barbed-wire fences along the coast. Over more than three hours surveillance cameras caught him reportedly eight times, the alarms sounded twice. 

However, the border guards did not notice. The troops found the man apparently asleep with his facemask hanging in a tree. Officials have also said that the defector has expressed his will to defect. In the wake of the incident, the South Korean military acknowledged that it had “failed to abide by due procedures” while pledging to elevate its border security.

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