South Korean President Park Geun-Hye called on North Koreans to abandon their country Saturday and defect, just a day after a soldier walked across the heavily fortified border into the South.
In a rare message directly addressed to rank-and-file troops and North Korean citizens, the president invited North Koreans to relocate to the “bosom of freedom” in the South.
“We are well aware of the gruesome realities you face,” said Park during a speech marking the country’s Armed Forces Day.
“The universal values of freedom, democracy, human rights and welfare are the precious rights you should also enjoy,” she added.
“We will keep the road open for you to find hope and live a new life. Please come to the bosom of freedom in the South whenever you want.”
The call comes a month after North Korea’s deputy ambassador to Britain defected to South Korea, handing Seoul a major propaganda coup at a time of rising tension on the divided Korean peninsula.
Ties between the two Koreas are at the lowest ebb since the height of Cold War in the 1970s, with Pyongyang test-firing more than 20 missiles and carrying out two nuclear tests this year alone.
Over the years, nearly 30,000 North Koreans have fled poverty and repression in their country and settled in the South.
Source: Websites
