EVEN THOUGH HE WAS SHOT FIVE TIMES IN THE PROCESS OF DOING

SO.

THIS WAS A 24-YEAR-OLD MEMBER OF THE NORTH KOREAN

MILITARY, AND HE DID DEFECT, HE DID MANAGE TO CROSS OVER TO

SOUTH KOREA, AND HE IS RECEIVING MEDICAL ATTENTION AT THE MOMENT.

HE IS EXPECTED TO SURVIVE.

BUT THE STORY IS INSANE, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU TAKE A

LOOK AT THE VIDEO, TAKE A QUICK LOOK AT THAT.

>>YOU SEE THE NORTH KOREAN MILITARY JEEP SPEEDING PAST

CHECKPOINTS, HEADING TOWARDS THE BORDER WITH SOUTH KOREA.

INSIDE,

THE SOLDIER BENT ON DEFECTING.

AS HE GETS CLOSER TO THE

DEMILITARIZED ZONE NORTH KOREAN SOLDIERS REACTING FROM THERE

POST, SCRAMBLING TOWARDS THE VEHICLE.

ONCE THE JEEP CRASHES

INTO A DITCH NEAR THE LINE THAT DIVIDES THE TWO NATIONS, HE SETS

OUT ON FOOT, RUNNING, AS THE NORTH KOREAN GUARDS BEGIN

SHOOTING.

DOZENS OF ROUNDS FIRED AT THE DEFECTOR, EVEN AS HE

CROSSES THAT CRUCIAL LINE TO FREEDOM.

>>AT SOME POINT THE NORTH KOREAN SOLDIERS SEE HIM AND SEE WHAT

HE'S DOING, THEY START FIRING AT HIM, MULTIPLE ROUNDS, AND

HITTING HIM, AND HE STILL SURVIVES ENOUGH TO CRAWL TO

SAFETY, TO GET BEHIND THE WALL.

>>CRITICALLY WOUNDED, SHOT FIVE OR SIX TIMES, HEAT SIGNATURE

FROM CAMERAS SHOW TWO SOUTH KOREAN SECURITY FORCES CRAWLING

TOWARDS THE DEFECTOR TO CARRY HIM OUT AND EVACUATE HIM TO

A NEARBY MEDICAL CENTER.

>>THAT IS GREAT FOOTAGE, AND A GREAT REPORT BY ABC, CHECK OUT

THE LINK DOWN BELOW FOR THE WHOLE REPORT.

LOOK, THAT IS THE

FIGHT FOR FREEDOM.

THAT WAS AMAZING.

HE TOOK FIVE BULLETS

FOR FREEDOM.

A DAY LATER THEY FLEW HIM TO A HOSPITAL DOWN PAST

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA AND REMOVED FIVE BULLETS FROM HIS BODY.

>>THEY DID, AND TO GIVE YOU SOME MORE INFORMATION ABOUT HOW MANY

TIMES THEY SHOT AT HIM, ACCORDING TO REPORTS THE

SOLDIERS FIRED AT HIM ABOUT 40 TIMES, HITTING HIM WITH BULLETS

FROM BOTH PISTOLS AND AN AK-47.

ALSO KEEP IN MIND THAT THERE WAS

THE DEMILITARIZED SONG THAT HE CROSSED INTO, AND AT THAT POINT,

THE NORTH KOREAN SOLDIERS BASED ON A CEASE-FIRE AGREEMENT ARE

SUPPOSED TO BE SHOOTING AT HIM, BUT THEY DID SO ANYWAY.

NOW

THERE IS AN ARGUMENT THAT THEY VIOLATED THE ARMISTICE AGREEMENT

BETWEEN THE TWO COUNTRIES, I DON'T THINK NORTH KOREA CARES AT

ALL.

>>IF YOU START FIRING INTO THAT ZONE YOU ARE REALLY RISKING

WAR, AND THEY DID FIRE INTO THAT ZONE, WHICH THEY AREN'T SUPPOSED

TO DO, AND THEY PHYSICALLY CROSSED OVER AS WELL.

NORTH

KOREA HAS A LOT OF BLUSTER AND THEY DO A LOT OF MISSILE TESTS,

BUT GENERALLY THEY DON'T CROSS THAT ZONE.

IF THEY DO THEN

OBVIOUSLY SOUTH KOREA WILL CROSS IT BACK AND WE ARE BACK IN THE

MIDDLE OF A WAR.

IT WAS A DANGEROUS MOMENT THERE, BUT I

THINK THAT WHAT THEY FOUND IN THE SOLDIER OTHER THAN THE

BULLETS IS, IN SOME WAYS, MORE AMAZING.

>>IT IS INSANE.

>>IT GIVES YOU A SENSE OF WHAT IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING

INSIDE NORTH KOREA --

>>AND THE PHOTO I'M ABOUT TO

SHOW YOU IS OF THE PARASITIC

WORMS SO IF YOU ARE UNCOMFORTABLE WITH THAT I WANT

TO GIVE THAT WARNING, BUT WITH THAT SAID, HERE IS A PHOTO OF

WHAT THE DOCTORS PULLED OUT OF HIS INTESTINES.

THEY ALSO FOUND

OUT THAT HE IS SUFFERING FROM HEPATITIS, IT'S A FORM OF

HEPATITIS THAT USUALLY SPREADS FROM UNSANITARY HOSPITALS

AND THINGS LIKE THAT.

>>WHEN THEY WE USE SYRINGES THEY SHOULDN'T USE, NEEDLES,

ETC.

IT TURNS OUT THAT A SHOCKING PERCENTAGE OF NORTH

KOREAN DEFECTORS HAVE PARASITIC WORMS IN THEIR BODY.

PART OF THE

REASON IS THEY USE HUMAN MANURE FOR FARMING, WHICH YOU AREN'T

SUPPOSED TO DO. AND THERE IS EASY THINGS YOU CAN DO TO AVOID

THESE WORMS, BUT THEY DON'T HAVE ANY MONEY, THEY HAVE NOTHING.

IN

ONE CASE THEY DID A STUDY OF NORTH KOREAN DEFECTORS, AND OF

THE WOMEN THEY STUDIED, I THINK IT WAS ALL WOMEN, SEVEN OUT OF

THE 17 HAD WORMS IN THEIR BODIES, AND ABOUT 10% OF THE

DEFECTORS SO FAR HAVE HEPATITIS B. IT'S BECAUSE THEY DON'T TAKE

NORMAL PRECAUTIONS THAT ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD YOU WOULD

TAKE, BECAUSE NORTH KOREA IS BASICALLY ONE GIANT

CONCENTRATION.

THERE'S 25 MILLION PEOPLE THAT LIVE IN

NORTH KOREA, THEY ARE HOSTAGES TO KIM JONG-UN AND THE RULING

CLASS IN NORTH KOREA.

PEOPLE LIKE THIS -- HIS LAST NAME IS

OH, WE DON'T KNOW HIS FIRST NAME, WE KNOW IT ISN'T STEVE --

PEOPLE LIKE HIM ARE WILLING TO WHISK THEIR LIVES TO GET OUT OF

THIS HELLHOLE.

NORTH KOREA IS ONE OF THE MOST INTRACTABLE

PROBLEMS ON THE PLANET, YOU ARE DAMNED IF YOU DO, DAMNED IF YOU

DON'T. IF YOU START HOSTILITIES WITH THEM THEY CAN LAUNCH OTHER

MISSILES AND KILL MILLIONS AT A BARE MINIMUM IN SOUTH KOREA, LET

ALONE THE 25 MILLION WHO WILL GET HURT WHEN SOUTH KOREA,

JAPAN, THE UNITED STATES COUNTERSTRIKE.

AND KILLING NORTH

KOREANS -- LINDSAY GRAHAM RECENTLY FLIPPANTLY TALKED ABOUT

IT'S NO BIG DEAL.

NO, YOU ARE KILLING PEOPLE IN A

CONCENTRATION CAMP.

BOMBING THE NORTH KOREANS IS TERRIBLE.

ON

THE OTHER HAND, THEY HAVE ENSLAVED THESE PEOPLE FOR

DECADES.

MILLIONS OF PEOPLE SUFFERING UNDER UNIMAGINABLE

CIRCUMSTANCES.

I LOVE TO DO CONSTRUCTIVE CRITIQUES, NOT JUST

BLINDLY SAY THAT PERSON IS BAD OR THAT SITUATION IS TERRIBLE,

AND NOT GIVE YOU AN ANSWER -- BUT NORTH KOREA IS A VERY

DIFFICULT SITUATION WITH NOT A LOT OF GREAT ANSWERS.

I KNOW

THAT WAR IS NOT THE ANSWER, I THINK THE ANSWER IS TO APPLY

EVERY KIND OF DIPLOMACY WE CAN TO CHINA, WHICH IS THE ONLY

COUNTRY BASICALLY PROPPING UP THE NORTH KOREAN REGIME.

AND BY

HOOK OR BY CROOK WE NEED TO GET CHINA TO AGREE WITH US TO

SOMEHOW, WITHOUT HAVING THE NORTH KOREANS LAUNCH, TAKE OUT

THE LEADERSHIP AND FREE THOSE PEOPLE.

BUT IT'S A VERY DIFFICULT PROBLEM.