First North Korean To Serve In ROK Military Completes His Mandatory Service

I am a bit surprised that it has taken this long for a North Korean defector to serve in the ROK military:

A North Korean defector recently completed his mandatory military service in South Korea, according to Korea Hana Foundation, a state-funded organization helping defectors, Thursday.

Kim Ji-hwan, 22, was discharged on Feb. 23 after serving two years as an Air Force sergeant in the 8th Fighter Wing in Wonju, Gangwon Province.

Kim is the first North Korean defector to have completed military service here, according to the Military Manpower Administration (MMA).

All able-bodied South Korean men aged between 19 and 37 are subject to compulsory military duty. But those who escaped from North Korea can legally refuse the draft under the Conscription Law, the MMA said.

Despite this, Kim applied for service in the Air Force. There are no other North Korean defectors serving in the military.

Kim fled to South Korea with his family in 2005. [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link.