S Korea confirms citizen defected to DPRK

SEOUL, Oct. 29 (Xinhua) -- South Korea on Thursday confirmed that a citizen had defected to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) after crossing the heavily fortified land border.

The military fact-finding team concluded that Kang Dong-lim, a 30-year-old man crossed the civilian control line in Gangwon Province and approached the barbed wires on Monday, then tore open the wires in the daytime on Tuesday to defect to the DPRK, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a statement.

The JCS added that footprints were found extending northward behind two layers of barbed wires that had been partly cut open.

A JCS official said the commander of the army division that guards the area has been sacked, and soldiers who patrolled the area during the period were also disciplined according the law.