North Korean Defector Escapes to South Korea in 10-Hour Swim Wrapped in Foam

By Paul Singh

A North Korean man has defected into South Korea by swimming for 10 hours while wrapped in foam. This is the second case of a North Korean defecting to the South since President Lee Jae-Myung took office.

According to Straight Arrow News, a news company from U.S., South Korean authorities reveal while evading guards with orders to shoot on site, the North Korean defector had swam 10 hours while staying afloat using plastic foam down the west coast of the Korean Peninsula.

A South Korean Navy officer asked the man, “We are the Republic of Korea Navy. Do you want to take refuge in South Korea?” He directly said yes, according to MSN, a news aggregator from Microsoft.

It was the 2nd Marine Division who spotted him crossing into the South. Korea JoongAng Daily reports that the 2nd Marine Division had detected and monitored him using surveillance equipment, after he crossed the border, he was given to South
Korean authorities.

The man was believed to have escaped from Gyodong Island, a year prior another North Korean resident was found near the same island. “Gyodong Island is the northernmost island in the West Sea and lies just 2.5 kilometers (1.6 miles) from Yeonan County in North Korea’s South Hwanghae Province,” according to Korea JoongAng Daily. “In August last year, another North Korean resident defected on foot via the neutral waters near the island.”

This is the second time a North Korean has defected into South Korea under President Lee`s administration, in July an individual from the North defected through “the heavily fortified inter-Korean land border,” Yonhap News Agency reports.

The first escape was on land. Deutsche Welle reports that a North Korean civilian defected into South Korea through a heavy mine filled border aided by South Korea`s military in a 20 hour operation, Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said.

North Koreans used to defect to third countries such as China and Russia but recently there have been cases of North Koreans defecting to the South via boat and land due to the DPRK`s strengthened borders, according to NK News.

Moreover, other third countries that North Koreans have defected to are Thailand.

“While tens of thousands have fled North Korea to the South since the peninsula was divided in the 1950s, most take an indirect route through China and a third country like Thailand,” DW states.

The Migration Policy Institute states that more than 34,000 North Koreans have defected to the South, most of the defectors are women, when the peninsula was divided among the 38th parallel.