Overview

• The man swam from just north of the Northern Limit Line off Gyodong Island on the night of July 30 using strapped plastic foam for buoyancy
• South Korean naval and marine units detected him in neutral waters, tracked his movement for about 10 hours and rescued him at around 4 a.m. on July 31
• After waving for help, he told a South Korean naval officer he intended to defect and was handed over to authorities for a joint investigation and asylum screening
• The Joint Chiefs of Staff reported no unusual activity by North Korean military forces during the operation
• This marks the second direct defection to South Korea by sea since President Lee Jae Myung took office, highlighting the extreme dangers and rarity of maritime crossings compared with overland routes through China