Soldiers Honoured For Saving North Korean Defector

Five Warrior Division Soldiers were formally recognised for saving the life of a North Korean defector who was seriously injured while attempting to cross the border.

The North Korean soldier was shot five times in the shoulder and elbow when he bolted from a guard post at the northern side of Panmunjom village in the Joint Security Area (JSA) to the southern side of the village on November 13.

Soldiers from the JSA and an aero-medical evacuation crew managed to rescue the defector who was described as "minutes from dying from his injuries".

It is extremely rare for a North Korean soldier to survive crossing the Demilitarised Zone, one of the world's most heavily guarded strips of land.

WATCH: North Korea defector makes dash for the border

Gen Vincent K Brooks said:

“The North Korean security forces, who fired at the soldier defecting to the South, tried to break his will for freedom.

"ROK-U.S. service members with other goodwill broke into the situation and took positive action to rescue the soldier.”

According to reports, it took the JSA trauma team 15 minutes to reach the DMZ.

The defector was then loaded onto their UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter and immediately began receiving first aid which continued during the 80-kilometre flight to Ajou Hospital, Suwon, Gyeonggi Province.

The defector is currently in stable condition and continues to recover from his injuries.

It comes at a time of heightened tension over North Korea's nuclear weapons programme and could escalate animosities between the rival countries.

North Korea has accused South Korea of enticing its citizens to defect, which the South denies.

About 30,000 North Koreans have defected to South Korea since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, but most travel through China.