FILES-SKOREA-NKOREA-MILITARY-DEFECTOR

(FILES) This file photo taken on November 27, 2017 shows North Korean soldiers staring at the South side at the truce village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized zone (DMZ) dividing the two Koreas. A North Korean soldier defected to the South on December 21, 2017 across the Demilitarized Zone that divides the peninsula, Seoul's defence ministry said. It came a month after a rare and dramatic defection by a soldier at Panmunjom, the truce village where opposing forces confront each other across a concrete dividing line. / AFP PHOTO / KOREA POOL / - / South Korea OUT