Seven North Koreans have defected to the South by taking a seldom used and highly dangerous route of sailing across a border that has been the site of naval clashes between the rival Koreas, officials said on Tuesday, Reuters reported.
News of the defection came a day after the North threatened to turn the contested Yellow Sea border off the west coast of the peninsula into a firing range, raising tension as it also appears to be ending its boycott of stalled nuclear disarmament talks.
The seven arrived in the South on Monday and are being questioned, the National Intelligence Service said, without providing further details.
Navies from the Koreas last month exchanged gunfire for the first time in about seven years near the disputed sea border, resulting in a South Korean ship being pockmarked with bullet holes and a North Korean vessel limping back to port in flames.
The two Koreas have fought two deadly naval battles in the past decade near the border, which is home to abundant fish stocks.
The North often unleashes threats while making conciliatory moves in international negotiations in order to increase its bargaining leverage by warning of the damage it could unleash in the North Asia region, which is responsible for one-sixth of the global economy, analysts said.
More than 16,000 North Koreans have defected to the South since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, almost all of them in the past 10 years, according to the South's Unification Ministry.
The vast majority escape across the border into China, and often with the help of brokers or relief groups, seek passage to South via a third country. Once in the South, they are usually granted citizenship and given money for resettlement.
The two Koreas are technically still at war and position more than 1 million troops near their border.
Seven North Koreans defect across sea border
