A top North Korean military official reportedly inspected the Joint Security Area(JSA) in the truce village of Panmunjeom ten days after a North Korean soldier defected to South Korea through the area.
 
According to government sources on Sunday, Ri Myong-su, chief of the General Staff of the North's Korean People's Army, conducted a secret inspection of the North's guard posts and security forces in the JSA on November 24th.
 
The sources said that the personal inspection by the top military official indicates the North Korean leadership takes the defection very seriously.
 
A North Korean soldier defected to South Korea on November 13th after driving a jeep into the JSA and running across the line marking the inter-Korean border.