SEOUL, South Korea – On a cold, grey afternoon, a North Korean soldier races toward freedom.
His jeep speeds down a road, past barren fields and across the replacement for the Bridge of No Return used for prisoner exchanges during the Korean War.
The shock of the soldiers watching is palpable as they realize one of their comrades is defecting to South Korea. They sprint after him.
From the appearance of the jeep to the soldier's frenzied crossing four minutes pass. A video released Wednesday showed the dramatic events Nov. 13 in the Joint Security Area inside the Demilitarized Zone between the Koreas.
A U.N. Command statement said a meeting had been requested with the North's military to discuss violations of the armistice agreement ending the war.