A North Korean man crossed the demilitarised zone into South Korea by swimming around fortifications with a wetsuit and flippers he had hidden under a rock.
After swimming around fortifications such a pressure sensors and barbed wire, the man walked five kilometres into South Korea and was detected no less than nine times by TV cameras before the military found him.
The dramatic escape plan from South Korea took place shortly after midnight on February 16, and has prompted an investigation from South Korea's military as to how he avoided detection for so long.
READ MORE: North Korean man caught after crossing heavily guarded DMZ
A new report by local news agency Yonhap found the man had used a drainage tunnel unknown to South Koreans to cross into the demilitarised zone (DMZ).
Surveillance cameras caught much of his journey and alarms were sounded twice, but no action was taken by authorities.
Finally, after nine appearances on camera the military found him shortly before 7.30am.
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The man reportedly told officers he was looking for civilians to hand himself in, as he feared detection by soldiers would have him sent back to North Korea.
Defectors from North Korea are given basic welfare payments in South Korea, and it is estimated over 33,000 Koreans from the North have successfully settled in the South in 2019 alone.
Most defectors cross into China before settling in South Korea, due to the difficulty and heightened surveillance around the DMZ.
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