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North Korean defector swims to South Korea, tied to plastic
The defector was headed for Ganghwa Island, one of the closest South Korean territories to North Korea
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A North Korean defector who swam across a sea border with South Korea while reportedly tied to floating plastic has been rescued and taken into custody, according to Seoul authorities.
The North Korean managed to swim across the de facto maritime border off the western coast of the Korean peninsula on the night of July 30, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said on Thursday.
The border is known as the Northern Limit Line and has occasionally served as a route for North Korean defectors swimming to South Korea’s Ganghwa Island.
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“The military identified the individual near the north of the mid-river boundary,” a military official told reporters.
The individual, whom local media reported was tied to styrofoam when he was found, waved for help and said he wanted to defect to South Korea when asked by a South Korean naval officer, the official said.
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The operation took about 10 hours, according to Seoul, and the individual was rescued at around 4am on last Thursday.
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