A North Korean soldier defected to South Korea on Sunday by crossing the heavily guarded Demilitarized Zone that separates the two Koreas.

In a statement Sunday, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the military took the soldier into custody after he crossed the Military Demarcation Line(MDL) in the central front that morning.

South Korean troops first spotted the individual near the MDL, then tracked and monitored his movements before securing him.

According to the JCS, the soldier expressed an intent to defect to the South and will undergo an investigation.

No unusual activity by North Korean forces has been detected in the area since the defection, the JCS said.

The incident marks the first known defection by a North Korean soldier since August 2024.