[EPA/Yonhap News Photo]
North Korea is believed to have replaced all border security guards following a North Korean soldier's recent defection to the South via a jointly controlled area at the tense border, an intelligence source said Thursday.
A North Korean soldier was shot and wounded by his fellows on November 13 when he sought to cross the heavily guarded inter-Korean border to defect. The replacement seems to be a response to their failure to deter his escape.
"Signs were detected that North Korea has replaced all border security officials following the defection," the source said. "Given this situation, commanders of the responsible military unit and senior officers might have undergone punishment."
The intelligence source also said that North Korea appears to have temporarily closed the so-called 72-hour bridge, over which the defector drove the jeep at high speed to reach the northern side of the JSA. The source added that the North is apparently tightening its screening of forces coming in and out of the DMZ.
(Yonhap)
