UN releases footage of the North Korean defector that crossed the DMZ.

The above footage is dramatic CCTV video of the North Korean defector that crossed the DMZ and got shot several times. I originally wrote about the case a while back but until now there wasn't any footage to show of the soldier.

The video shows the soldier driving by a guard post in a truck. He manages to get to the border but his vehicle gets stuck in the dirt. He starts to flee but the North Korean soldiers shoot at him. More footage shows the North Koreans rallying near the border and finally, night vision footage shows the soldier being rescued by South Koreans.

A few thoughts. First, the North Koreans couldn't shoot all that well. They were within a few feet of him and though they were able to wound him quite severely, they weren't able to kill the defector. People are harder to kill that most people realize but with a couple of guys shooting they probably should have been able to take him down.

Second, even despite the poor aim, this soldier was very lucky to escape with his life, despite being wounded. He got extremely lucky to make it across the border and survive long enough to be rescued. That was always true but to see it first hand really heightens it. Also, the South Koreans were taking no chances and approached the soldier with extreme caution, which was obviously justified by the circumstances.

Third, this could have caused a greater incident. You could tell that the North Koreans wanted to cross the border to catch and/or kill this defector but they barely held back. Indeed, South Korea accuses them of violating the border, but to this layman's eye I can't tell for sure. Either way, it looked like the North Koreans wanted to fight. Given how poorly this incident is likely to be received by their commanders, I don't blame them. Something tells me that the border guards involved in this case will be liquidated... if they are lucky.

Finally, we have gathered some intelligence from this defector. Though he is still wounded and just recently regained consciousness, we did find out something interesting. The man was infested with parasites. That isn't too uncommon in North Korea as they use human waste as fertilizer, but the fact that an NCO was so infested goes to show how poor their medical resources are. The military is relatively privileged and yet the North can still not afford clean food and medical treatment for their men. That is good information to know.