“The figure was identified as a person about 300 meters in front of the guard post,” the South Korean military said, adding that this was the first time since 2010 that a North Korean citizen defected over the river.
There had been no unusual movement from North Korean military on the front, according to the Chiefs of Staff.
There are no official statistics showing exactly how many North Koreans have fled their country, which is home to about 25 million people. South Korea says it has welcomed more than 32,000 defectors since 1998. Last year alone, the country received 1,137 defectors.
The video showed the North Korean soldier Oh Chong Song speeding to the border in his jeep. When the jeep got stuck in a ditch, he abandoned the vehicle to dash across amid a hail of bullets from his former fellow soldiers. He was shot five times and survived after undergoing a series of extensive surgeries in South Korea.
The North Korean military has more than 1.2 million active soldiers and a further 7.7 million in reserves. It is one of the largest ground forces in the world.