A North Korean soldier defected to South Korea across the rivals’ heavily fortified border on Sunday, South Korea’s military said.

The military took custody of the soldier who crossed the central portion of the land border, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement. It said the soldier expressed a desire to resettle in South Korea.

It was the first reported defection by a North Korean soldier since a North Korean staff sergeant fled to South Korea via the border’s eastern section in August 2024.