Defecting North Korea soldier shot by own side

A North Korean soldier was shot by his own side yesterday while defecting to South Korea at the border truce village of Panmunjom, the South’s military said. The soldier was shot in the shoulder and elbow. It is rare for the North’s troops to defect at the truce village, a tourist attraction bisected by the border and the only part of the frontier where forces from the two sides come face to face. An official said the South’s soldiers heard a gunshot and then retrieved the unarmed soldier in the mid-afternoon. He was taken to a private hospital by a UN helicopter. No personal details were released but the soldier’s uniform suggested he was low ranking. No tourists were in the area because tours do not run on Mondays.