Shots fired at DMZ as North Korean soldier defects to South

By Haejin Choi and Josh Smith SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean guards fired warning shots across the heavily militarized border with North Korea on Thursday as a soldier from the North defected in thick fog, complicating efforts to ease tensions over Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs. A South Korean defense ministry official said up to 20 warning shots were fired as North Korean troops approached too near the "military demarcation line" at the demilitarized zone (DMZ), apparently in search of the missing soldier. Thursday's defection came about five weeks after a North Korean soldier suffered critical gunshot wounds during a defection dash across the border.