North Korean Defects to South, Says Seoul Military 

A North Korean flag flutters at the propaganda village of Gijungdong in North Korea, in this picture taken near the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas, South Korea, July 19, 2022. (Reuters)
A North Korean flag flutters at the propaganda village of Gijungdong in North Korea, in this picture taken near the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas, South Korea, July 19, 2022. (Reuters)
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North Korean Defects to South, Says Seoul Military 

A North Korean flag flutters at the propaganda village of Gijungdong in North Korea, in this picture taken near the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas, South Korea, July 19, 2022. (Reuters)
A North Korean flag flutters at the propaganda village of Gijungdong in North Korea, in this picture taken near the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas, South Korea, July 19, 2022. (Reuters)

A North Korean defected to the South by walking across the heavily fortified border that separates the peninsula, Seoul's military said Tuesday.

Tens of thousands of North Koreans have fled to South Korea since the peninsula was divided by war in the 1950s, but the majority cross the land border into China first.

Seoul's military said it picked up "one suspected North Korean individual on the eastern front and handed them over to the relevant authorities".

The defector was a staff sergeant, Yonhap news agency reported, who was given some guidance from the South's military during the defection.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff said they had not detected any unusual movement by the North Korean military around the time of the defection.

"Relevant authorities are currently investigating and therefore cannot confirm the detailed process of the defection," or the individual's exact motivations and goals, the military said.

Local media reported that the defector walked along the road by the waterfront in eastern Gangwon province, and was wearing their North Korean military uniform when they were picked up by authorities.

It is the second defection across the border between the Koreas in just two weeks, after another North Korean made it across the de facto maritime border in the Yellow Sea on August 8.

The defections come as relations between the two Koreas are at one of their lowest points in years, with the North ramping up weapons testing and bombarding the South with trash-carrying balloons.

The number of successful defections dropped significantly from 2020 after the North sealed its borders -- purportedly with shoot-on-sight orders along the land frontier with China -- to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

But after border controls eased in 2023, the number of defectors making it to the South almost tripled last year to 196, Seoul said in January, with more elite diplomats and students seeking to escape, up from 67 in 2022.

Last week, North Korean tour operations unexpectedly announced that the country would reopen to foreign tourists this winter.



Thousands March Against Gaza War at Democratic Convention 

Demonstrators march near the United Center which is hosting the Democratic National Convention (DNC) on August 19, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. The convention runs through August 22. (Getty Images/AFP)
Demonstrators march near the United Center which is hosting the Democratic National Convention (DNC) on August 19, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. The convention runs through August 22. (Getty Images/AFP)
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Thousands March Against Gaza War at Democratic Convention 

Demonstrators march near the United Center which is hosting the Democratic National Convention (DNC) on August 19, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. The convention runs through August 22. (Getty Images/AFP)
Demonstrators march near the United Center which is hosting the Democratic National Convention (DNC) on August 19, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. The convention runs through August 22. (Getty Images/AFP)

Thousands of mostly peaceful pro-Palestinian protesters marched in Chicago on the opening day of the Democratic National Convention on Monday, in a show of anger against the Biden administration's support for Israel in the Gaza war.

After hours of peaceful demonstrations, dozens of protesters broke through part of the perimeter security fence, drawing riot police to the site, a Reuters witness said.

The DNC's security team confirmed that protesters breached a portion of the fencing on the outer perimeter near the convention arena but said law enforcement personnel acted quickly and there was no threat to attendees.

Reuters witnesses saw four people detained and placed in handcuffs. Chicago police confirmed at a press conference that arrests were made but did not say how many.

Chanting intensified ahead of the fence breach, as protesters reached a neighborhood park on Chicago's West Side and paused to amplify their calls for a ceasefire. Amid the noise, the crowd turned its frustration toward Vice President Kamala Harris, referring to the Democratic candidate as "Killer Kamala".

Chicago police formed a perimeter around the park on foot to contain protesters, with some police members on bikes.

Still, the umbrella group "March on the DNC" drew fewer supporters than expected to a park outside the convention arena, hours before President Joe Biden was to address the gathering.

They started a one-mile march near where Democratic delegates will nominate Harris as their candidate to face Republican Donald Trump in November's presidential election.

Organizers had expected tens of thousands of protesters - enough to fill the park and the march route - Hatem Abudayyeh, a spokesman for March on the DNC, said early Monday. By afternoon though, several thousand protesters had gathered for speeches and the park was only half full.

The coalition of more than 200 groups includes those advocating for a variety of causes from reproductive rights to racial justice. Many people were coming from Palestinian and Arab communities in Illinois and neighboring states, organizers said last week.

Dozens of Muslim delegates and their allies, angry at US support for Israel's offensive in Gaza, are seeking changes in the Democratic platform and plan to press for an arms embargo, putting the party on guard for disruptions to high-profile speeches at the convention.

Roman Fritz, at 19 one of the youngest Wisconsin delegates, wore a scarf imprinted with the traditional Palestinian keffiyeh pattern. He said he supported Harris as the party nominee to beat Trump.

Some protesters were doubtful that the party will change its platform.

"It'll never happen," said Mwalimu Sundiata Keita, who traveled from Cincinnati, Ohio, to join the protest. "It's the policy of the party to support Israel, and until that policy changes, that's the way it's going to be."

Another large protest was scheduled for Thursday, when Harris is due to formally accept the nomination.

Pro-Palestinian groups have for months protested the Biden administration's military and financial support for Israel in its war against Hamas, which has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to Gaza health officials.

Israel launched the offensive after it was attacked on Oct. 7 by Hamas fighters who killed 1,200 people and abducted about 250 hostages, according to Israel tallies.

Protests swelled on US college campuses in the spring, with police clearing student encampments, at times after confrontations between protesters and counter-protesters.

"The Democrats are the ones in power," Abudayyeh said on Monday. "It's their war. They're responsible for it, they're complicit, and they can stop it."