A North Korean soldier defected to South Korea across the eastern land border on Saturday.

Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said he is safely in military custody.

The South Korean military, using surveillance equipment, detected the soldier crossing the Military Demarcation Line in Gangwon Province at 7:56 a.m.

The JCS said that related agencies plan to investigate the details of how he came to the South.

It added that no particular movements have been spotted from the North Korean military in the frontline area.

No gunfire is known to have been exchanged during the defection.

A South Korean military official said that security and patrol operations on the frontline have not had any problems in the course of withdrawing guard posts in the border area between the two Koreas.

The official said the military has taken the North Korean soldier into custody in line with due procedures.

This marks the first defection since the two Koreas completed on Friday the trial demolition of frontline guard posts, ten on each side within the Demilitarized Zone.