North Korea digs trenches where defector crossed DMZ border

A defector escaped across the DMZ on Nov. 13.

ByABC News
November 24, 2017, 11:23 AM
North Korean soldiers dig a trench and plant trees in the area where, on Nov. 13, a defector ran across the border at the Demilitarized Zone dividing North Korea and South Korea, Nov. 22, 2017.
North Korean soldiers dig a trench and plant trees in the area where, on Nov. 13, a defector ran across the border at the Demilitarized Zone dividing North Korea and South Korea, Nov. 22, 2017.
Reuters

— -- Images taken Wednesday appear to show North Korean soldiers refortifying and digging trenches where a defector escaped last week across the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) border to South Korea.

A video released by United Nations Command showed the 24-year-old defector, identified only by his family name Oh, running toward the border as his fellow North Korean soldiers chased and fired at him on Nov. 13. Oh was able to cross over the military demarcation line (MDL) but was shot at least five times.

South Korean soldiers cautiously dragged Oh to safety and transported him to a hospital, where he underwent two surgeries. His operations revealed that Oh had parasitic infections and a hepatitis infection.

Marc Knapper, the U.S. diplomatic leader in Seoul, South Korea, tweeted Wednesday as he visited the Joint Security Area, that "the North Koreans have planted two trees and are digging a trench at the spot where their soldier crossed the MDL."

ABC News' Joohee Cho contributed to this report.