North Korean man defects

Seoul: A North Korean man who crossed the heavily fortified border with South Korea has said he wants to defect to the South, Seoul officials said yesterday.

The man was taken into custody in the Demilitarised Zone separating the two Koreas on Wednesday, several hours after he was spotted crossing barbed wire fences installed along the border.

‘‘I understand the person has expressed his willingness to defect,’’ a South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesman told a briefing.

Border controls were being examined after the search for the man revealed some parts of the fences equipped with electronic monitoring systems were found to have been damaged, possibly by typhoons. — Reuters