Officials in Seoul say a North Korean soldier defected to South Korea late Tuesday, crossing the border near a point where President Bush delivered a speech Wednesday.

A defense ministry spokesman confirmed a media report that the North Korean defector, carrying two assault rifles, slipped across the frontier. The spokesman says the defector was later turned over to investigators for questioning.

Yonhap news agency says the North Korean fired several warning shots into the air to declare his intention to defect. He is said to have crossed the border near the Dorasan train station, where Mr. Bush gave a speech hours later.

The inter-Korean border is the world's most heavily armed and defections across it are relatively rare.

Some information for this report provided by AFP and AP.

Email this article to a friend
Printer Friendly Version