The South Korean military detected the North Korean defector who previously snuck through a border drain and swam back to the DPRK, the country’s Joint Chiefs of Staffs (JCS) told reporters on Friday. The military used surveillance cameras and Thermal Observation Devices (TOD) to track the individual’s movements.

The military also decided to relieve a Marine Corps general from his duties, the JCS told reporters during a back briefing on Friday. The dismissed general is being held responsible for a failure to maintain border security and for belatedly confirming the redefection only after North Korean state media reported it last Sunday.

The military will take “stern measures” against the individual, a JCS official said, adding that other military officials in charge of the matter will also be referred to a disciplinary committee.

South Korean military authorities held an on-site investigation into Kim’s border crossing between Sunday and Tuesday, taking a detailed look into video clips recorded with surveillance cameras and TOD.

Signs of redefection were detected seven times via the South’s monitoring equipment — five times using near-range and medium-range distance surveillance cameras and two times using TOD, particularly when Kim emerged from the water and arrived on North Korean soil.

In addition to monitoring failures, the area also apparently lacked security when Kim walked into the drain near the border, JCS officials said. A soldier did see Kim arriving by taxi around 2:20 a.m. on July 18, near the Yeonmijeong Pavilion in Wolgot-ri, Ganghwa-eup — but the soldier thought Kim was a neighborhood resident and did not report the sighting to superiors.

REDEFECTION ROUTE

Born in 1996, defector Kim was a former resident of Kaepung District in the city of Kaesong and eventually defected to South Korea through Gimpo on June 18, 2017, according to ROK military authorities.

When Kim recently redefected to the DPRK, he may have used a method deployed during his original escape to the South: swimming across the water between Kaesong and Ganghwa (Gimpo is located next to Ganghwa).

Records show that Kim visited Gyodong Island and Ganghwa Island on July 17, the night before his defection to the North. He likely visited to check out the targeted redefection spot in advance, South Korean military officials said on Friday.

Kim chose to cross the border in the dark, arriving via a taxi at Yeonmijeong at around 2:18 a.m. on July 18, a closed-circuit television (CCTV) video clip showed. Videos also showed that he moved towards the drain he used to cross under the barbed wire after about ten minutes.

The South Korean military believes that Kim entered the water around 2:46 a.m., and then rode the tide and swam towards the North. Recorded video clips show that he passed by Yu Island (Yu-do) near Gimpo before arriving in the North’s “Tanpo area” riverside at around 4 a.m. — around 75 minutes after his original departure. This means that Kim swam approximately five kilometers.

While the chairman of the JCS had told lawmakers earlier this week that he believed the defector probably used a life jacket, the available surveillance video could not exactly identify what type of floatation device Kim had used, a military official said on Friday.

A backpack that Kim left behind — found by police on Sunday evening — contained items such as a copy of the bible, first-aid medicine and a bankbook with Kim’s name on it, the official added.

BELATEDLY DETECTED SEVEN TIMES

South Korea’s military belatedly discovered that border area surveillance equipment recorded signs of Kim’s defection seven times, according to JCS officials on Friday.

Surveillance cameras detected the defector’s border-crossing five times between 2:46 a.m. and 4 a.m., recording footage of what appears to be Kim entering the water at 2:46 a.m., swimming between Yu-do and Ganghwa at 3:14 a.m., and then moving closer to Yu Island at 3:49 a.m.

Other items floating in the river were also visible in the video footage, creating confusion. But experts ultimately found out late that there was a notable speed difference between Kim — who was swimming — and other items that were just floating, a military official explained.

Thermal Observation Devices (TOD) — which monitor any potential signs of North Korean military movement across the water — detected Kim twice, the official said. Kim was recorded once around 4 a.m., when he emerged from the water, and once about 40 minutes later when he walked towards the North Korean town military authorities referred to as “Sonjon.”

South Korea’s military also admitted on Friday that the drain Kim used in Ganghwa to pass under barbed wire before swimming towards North Korea lacked any sort of closed-circuit television to monitor movements inside. A military official also admitted to reporters that, while the guideline mandates those in charge must check the drain twice a day, it turned out that military personnel “were not doing that in reality.”

Authorities pointed out yet another flaw to border security, as well: the steel bars — set about 35 to 40 centimeters (14 to 16 inches) apart from each other inside the drain — were not easily detectable from outside and were too “old,” making it easy for an average-build person to pass through. Barbed wires that were supposed to double-secure the steel bars were “not solid,” either, and Kim could have pushed it towards the side and moved along, a military official added.

One reporter asked a JCS official when military personnel last repaired the barriers inside the drain. The JCS official responded that he does not know.

WHY DID THE MILITARY MISS THE DEFECTION?

South Korea’s military admitted several failures, but also was quick to defend some personnel misunderstandings in the process.

For instance, a military official stressed that it would’ve been difficult for non-experts to distinguish items floating in the river, such as logs or trash, from a defector wading through the water. The TOD video timestamped at around 4.a.m. only very briefly showed Kim for two seconds, the official said.

Meanwhile, a wildfire happening just across the border in North Korean territory also distracted monitoring personnel, the official added.

Criticism of South Korea’s security mistakes only got worse when the military admitted that a military officer in charge of TOD devices erased all videos recorded at the guard post near Yeonmijeong — where the defector departed — on July 23. The military officer erased the footage just three days before North Korean state media reported on the redefection on July 26.

The erasure was due to a recording error and a lack of available storage space in the device, a military official claimed on Friday, telling reporters that a lie detector test suggested that the erasure was not of malicious intent.

The erased TOD video clips were partially restored later on, but the recovered videos did not show the moment of redefection, a South Korean military official stated.

After briefing reporters on the investigation, military officials vowed to educate other personnel so that they can better monitor the border, and further promised to revamp the system for checking drains within the DMZ. The South Korean military also promised to strengthen cooperation with police to streamline tips related to potential defections.

Edited by Kelly Kasulis