DMZ vets may recall the North Korean propaganda leaflets often found in the ‘Z. Back then the US and RoK sent their own leaflets to the North, but in recent years the RoK government has not only stopped much of its own propaganda efforts but madeit illegal for defectors from North Korea to do it […]

“The demilitarized zone metaverse ‘expand[s] the real experience of the DMZ with personalized avatars and immersive technology,’ South Korea’s Unification Ministry, which developed the platform, said in a statement.” Visit the virtual DMZ here.

“The man’s case is rare — while more than 10,000 North Korean defectors have arrived in South Korea in the past decade, just 30 have returned home, where they face the prospect of being put into forced labor camps, according to official South Korean data. But defectors and advocates say even if the man’s rationale […]

We remember being careful to avoid confusing thermal images of tall cranes (the bird) with North Koreans in the ‘Z. We’ve also always wondered if there could be tigers there. See our other posts on wildlife in the DMZ and fishing in the ‘Z Fishing The DMZ Source: Wildlife thrives in the Korean demilitarized … […]

“(T)he Reconnaissance Bureau maintains four separate reconnaissance battalions. Highly trained and organized, these five-hundred-man battalions are trained to lead an army corps through the hazardous DMZ. They likely have intimate—and highly classified—knowledge of both friendly and enemy defenses in the demilitarized zone.” North Korean SOF includes platoons of female operators, according to this report. Source: […]

Longing for loved ones left behind + financial/career woes are two motives… Source: Why do some North Korean defectors go back? | Taiwan News | 2022-01-06 12:04:00

“According to the interim results of the 22nd Infantry Division’s investigation into the border crossing, which the Joint Chiefs of Staff released on Wednesday, security cameras at a general outpost under the control of the division recorded five separate scenes of the man scrambling over the barbed wire fence, but soldiers monitoring the cameras failed […]

Life can be hard for North Korean defectors in the South — they face discrimination, increased unemployment and financial scams… We’re interested to see if Pyongyang uses this man for anti-South Korean propaganda. Source: South Korea: Man who crossed DMZ into North was previous defector | TheHill

RoK troops failed to track the presumed defector as he moved through the ‘Z, again highlighting weaknesses in UNC/RoK capabilities. “Defence officials in Seoul had pledged to overhaul the border defence system after similar breaches in the past.” Aside from the ignorance and/or desperation usually indicated by defecting north, this line crosser had to face […]

“The United Nations Command launched an investigation after civilians visiting the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea wore military uniforms and were erroneously marked as combatants…” Source: UN Command is investigating whether civilians wore military attire inside Korean DMZ | Stars and Stripes