A week before Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s visit to North Korea, a North Korean soldier guarding an area near Kimjongsuk County in Ryanggang Province deserted his post. Authorities in the area were placed on high alert and conducted a search for the individual, who was at first suspected of defecting to China, according to sources in North Korea.
The soldier soon turned himself in, reportedly defecting due to mistreatment by his company political guidance officer. The investigation into his defection has now been expanded into looking at accusations of violent conduct by his officer.
“The solder was on night duty when he suddenly disappeared. He had been subjected to beatings by his superior,” a Ryanggang Province-based source told Daily NK. “The border patrol, thinking he had defected, was put on high alert.”
The soldier was part of a team of two and had said he was going to patrol the surrounding area alone when he disappeared from his post. When he failed to return, the other member of his team reported his disappearance to the company commander. The company commander ordered the entire company to be placed on high-alert because the soldier had deserted his post fully armed.
Soldiers from other border patrol posts were called in to search for the missing soldier, but failed to find him. The next morning, the soldier turned himself in.
The soldier told investigators that he had left his post because he was angry about being beaten up by his company’s political guidance officer. It turned out that he had only hiked up a nearby mountain and sat there to reflect on his situation.
Now, investigators are looking into the soldier’s allegations of violence and mistreatment by the company’s political guidance officer, according to a separate source in Ryanggang Province.
He told Daily NK that on the day of the soldier’s desertion, the political guidance officer in question had called three soldiers into his office to reprimand them for failing to properly crack down on smuggling activities in the area. One of the soldiers allegedly failed to answer to the officer’s satisfaction and was attacked both verbally and physically.
“The political guidance officer had a long history of violence towards his subordinates and had a reputation among the soldiers,” he said. “Many locals have criticized the officer for mistreating those under his command.”
