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S Korean man defects to North

North Korea confirmed yesterday the alleged defection of a South Korean man by boat, who fled despite a flurry of warning shots fired by South Korea's military.

But South Korean news reports said the man may have crossed by accident and was intoxicated at the time he sailed through the border Wednesday afternoon.

The North's official Korean Central News Agency said the man, identified as Hwang Hong Ryon, "had to go through a hail of bullets and shells fired by the South Korean army" when crossing the countries' eastern sea border. The family name matches South Korean media reports about the man, who was said to be 57 years old. The defector was "under investigation by a competent institution," KCNA said.

South Korean military officials were also investigating the alleged defection. Reports said soldiers along the shore fired dozens of warning shots to try and prevent the boat's escape.

Investigators suspect Hwang, a fisherman, crossed the border by accident and was heavily intoxicated at the time, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported, adding that South Korea will demand through official channels that he be returned.

Hwang was born in North Korea and defected with his sister in 1951 at the age of 3, just after the start of the 1950-53 Korean War, according to Yonhap. He became depressed recently after his son was convicted of robbery in 2001, the agency said.

Defections from the South to North Korea are rare, but a record 1,890 North Koreans came to South Korea last year, an increase of nearly 50 percent from 2003.
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