South Korean troops fired as North Korean soldiers attempted to locate the soldier who had previously defected to the South across the border, a spokesman for the Seoul Defense Ministry said. The South Korean army first sent out a warning with the loudspeaker system, seeing border guards approaching the military demarcation line. Because the warning was ignored, "various" warning shots were fired, the spokesman said, noting that the North Korean patrol by then had withdrawn. Shortly after, around 10.15 South Korean time (2.15 Italian time), the Seoul troops in turn heard shots, apparently also warning, coming from the northern side of the demilitarized border. The North Korean soldier who was wanted by the patrol deserted around 8.04 am Seoul time (0.04 am CET on Wednesday), crossing the western side of the border that divides the Koreas. He is the fourth North Korean soldier to flee south this year, the first after the dramatic desertion in November of a soldier who was shot five times by the North Korean army in the Joint Security Area, the only one after the soldiers of the two countries are face to face. After that episode, which took place on November 13, today's incident adds further tension to the border between the Koreas. These remain technically at war, since the conflict that saw them oppose between 1950 and 1953 ended in a ceasefire instead of a peace treaty.
