Defection of North Korean soldier causes red faces in Seoul

A North Korean soldier who defected to the South managed to scale three barbed wire fences along one of the world's most heavily patrolled borders without being detected.

Then he had to knock on barracks doors twice when he reached the South to get any attention.

News of the defection trickled out this week as opposition lawmakers in Seoul, who apparently learned of it through a leak, pressed the government to explain how such a security breach could have happened.

On Thursday, President Lee Myung-bak ordered that border guards in the area be disciplined.

The startling details of the guards' failure to spot the defector are proving an embarrassment for the government, with news media and politicians asking what might have happened if the soldier had been armed for an attack.

The North Korean soldier, whose name, rank and motive for defection were not disclosed, crossed the eastern border on the night of October 2. The military did not disclose his defection until lawmakers began asking questions about it during a parliamentary session this week.

In contrast, the military immediately revealed the defection of a North Korean soldier who crossed the border last Saturday after killing two of his officers.