US releases dramatic video of North Korean soldier being shot as he fled border

FOOTAGE of a North Korean soldier being shot at as he makes a desperate attempt to flee the country after crossing the border.

THE United Nations has released incredibly dramatic video of a North Korean soldier’s desperate attempt to escape while hunted down by soldiers on its treacherous border.

The UN Command in South Korea has released the video of the soldier, who is in a critical condition in a military hospital after surviving the terrifying ordeal. It is dated November 13, 3:11pm. The soldier, who is reportedly in his 20s, weighs 60kg and is around 1.7 metres tall, survived more than 40 shots fired towards him and he is seen limping across the border of the demilitarised zone (DMZ) as his enemies are just steps behind.

The defector is seen at front as the soldiers shoot from just steps behind.

According to The Times, he was shot “multiple times as his own side fired 40 rounds in an attempt to halt his desperate escape over the frontier in Panmunjom, the only part of the 155-mile border between North and South that remains free of barbed wire fences and landmines”.

The video, posted to YouTube and Twitter, show the soldier making what has been described as a “mad-dash” defection for North Korea’s southern border in a Jeep.

The soldier’s rank and identity have not been established.

The North Korean defector passes a checkpoint along the south border in the Jeep.

The soldier parks away from the camera following their every move.

HKPA soldiers come out of the building as the vehicle quickly moves passed them towards a gate. After driving through, with four soldiers following closely behind, the soldier makes his way towards a bridge towards a Kim-il Sung monument.

He makes a right hand turn by the monument and parks the the Jeep underneath a group of trees. He can go no further in the car and makes a run for it.

Surprised North Korean soldiers run to the location of the stopped vehicle.

A rundown of the soldier’s escape.

The UN Command in South Korea says North Korean soldiers violated its Armistice Agreement with South Korea twice last week in the pursuit of the defecting soldier by firing shots across the Military Demarcation Line, and then by crossing it.

The soldier is reportedly traumatised by the events and asked for food after he regained consciousness for the first time yesterday. He underwent two operations to extract the bullets where they also found 27-centimetre roundworms in his body.

North Korean soldiers seen running after the defecting soldier.

The most dramatic moments of the video are captured after the soldier exits the Jeep and the four soldiers shoot in a hail of bullets as he runs across the border to freedom.

One soldier jumps for him, another runs across the line briefly.

Later, North Korean soldiers gather again near the Kim-il Sung monument.

Still from U.N. Command footage shows North Korean Quick Reaction Force gathering on northern side of the JSA, moments after KPA soldier dashes across line. (U.N.C. did not show their own QRF). pic.twitter.com/9I3UbOjEQI

— James Pearson (@pearswick) November 22, 2017

The wounded defector lies against a retaining wall amongst leaves after crossing the border. We also see a heat map pf the soldier as he lies against the leaves of a retaining wall. Three U.S. and South Korea armed security forces crawl towards the injured soldier and bring him to safety.

The soldier was flown to a hospital in Suwon, south of Seoul, by a U.S. miltary hospital.

“He is fine,” lead surgeon Lee Cook-Jong said at a press conference in Suwon. “He is not going to die.”

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