(LEAD) N. Korean soldier crosses border into S. Korea: military

A North Korean soldier crossed the border into South Korea early Tuesday in the latest defection amid Seoul's propaganda campaign in response to Pyongyang's s repeated launches of trash-carrying balloons. The South Korean military detected the soldier from north of the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) within the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas in the eastern section of the border and conducted an operation to help him arrive in the South. The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) confirmed the defection of the soldier, reportedly a staff sergeant, and said relevant authorities are conducting an investigation into how the defection took place. It did not provide further details on the defector. No unusual movements by the North Korean military have been detected so far, the JCS added. The defection came about two weeks after a North Korean resident defected to the South by crossing the neutral zone of the Han River estuary located west of the inter-Korean land border. The inflow of North Korean defectors has continued amid chronic food shortages and harsh political oppression in the North. In the first half of the year, the number of North Korean defectors arriving in the South reached 105, slightly up from 99 the previous year. South Korea has been conducting full-scale anti-Pyongyang broadcasts, including news and K-pop music, daily through its border loudspeakers since mid-July in response to the North's repeated launches of trash-carrying balloons. North Korea has launched more than 3,600 trash balloons since May 28 in a tit-for-tat move against balloons carrying anti-Pyongyang leaflets flown by North Korean defectors in South Korea. Source: Yonhap News Agency