South Korean Military Detains Suspicious Man Near Demilitarized Zone, Reports Suggest

SEOUL (Sputnik) - South Korean military has detained a suspicious man near the demilitarized zone of the inter-Korean border, where civilians are not allowed, the Yonhap news agency reported on Tuesday, citing South's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).

According to the news agency, the man's identity, as well as the reasons why he was around a military checkpoint in the buffer zone in the early hours of the day have not been yet established.

"A probe is under way. We will give further details after wrapping up the investigation," the JCS was cited as saying by the news agency.

A vehicle leaving the Kaesong joint industrial zone passes through disinfectant spray before a checkpoint at the CIQ immigration centre near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating North an South Korea, in Paju on February 11, 2016

© AFP 2023 / ED JONES

The last time a similar incident took place  was in November 2020, when a North Korean civilian crossed the border into the South in a suspected defection bid. The man managed to surpass barbed wire and other barriers, but ended up caught on video surveillance. It was not until some 10 hours later that the South Korean military announced detaining him. Following the incident, Seoul took measures to improve its border surveillance system.