The South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the military identified and tracked the individual near the central-west section of the military demarcation line and conducted a “guiding operation” before taking the person into custody Thursday night.

Defections across the land border are relatively rare, as the area is densely forested, heavily mined and monitored by soldiers on both sides.

South Korean troops detain unarmed North Korean man after rare border crossing amid rising inter-Korean military tensions