A North Korean soldier has defected to South Korea after crossing the heavily armed military demarcation line separating the two countries by foot on Monday.

The Telegraph reports that the soldier, whose identity and reasons for defecting has been withheld, is currently being questioned by South Korean authorities after his arrival on the southern side of the border this morning.

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"He crossed the border in Hwacheon, Gangwon Province, on foot and expressed his desire to defect," a report from the South Korean Ministry of National Defense read.

According to CNN, there have been no reports or confirmation of the defection from the North Korean government and state media.

Due to the fact that the Korean War (1950 - 1953) ended in an armistice and not a peace treaty, the two countries are still at war - although in recent years there has been insignificant physical military combat.

Defections and border crossings between the North and South Korean border - reputed to be the most fortified in the world - is very rare and dangerous. However, a few North Korean soldiers have made it across the border into the South in recent years.

In October 2012, a North Korean army private who confessed to killing two of his superiors crossed the border and walked into a South Korean barracks where he knocked on a door to request asylum. This caused the South Korean minister of defense to issue a public apology for the security breach.

The Unification Ministry in Seoul reports that over 20,000 North Korean have defected to the South since the war began. In 2014, up to 1,400 North Korean soldiers are reported to have defected to the South. Most of them have reportedly done so by crossing the more unrestricted border into China, after which they travel through several countries before arriving in South Korea.

The number of people crossing into the south has reduced since Kim Jong-Un ascended the helm of government after his father's death.

"Under the order of leader Kim Jong-un, the military has gone all-out to prevent soldiers from going AWOL across the North Korean-China border," Yonhap News reports a statement from an unidentified South Korean official.

The report added that the North has been setting up land mines near the border with the South to deter defectors.

In a related development, on Monday Japan Times reported that North Korea has expressed willingness to resume talks with the South only if Seoul stops conducting joint military drills and exercises with the United States.

"There is no reason to avoid dialogue and negotiations if an atmosphere for trust and reconciliation is created," a North Korean government report aired by the state's Korean Central News Agency noted.

The offer for dialogue comes on the 15th anniversary of a historical meeting between former South Korean President Kim Dae-Jung and the late Kim Jong- II, the late North Korean leader. The summit, which ended positively, saw both countries make joint declarations on cooperation and reconciliation.

In the past, Seoul has refused to accept the North's demand for an end to its annual military exercises with the US. While the South has also expressed willingness for dialogue, authorities they are not ready to "coax" Pyongyang into talks.

Pyongyang has made nuclear threats and has been conducting both long and short range missiles tests across it coasts. On Sunday, NDTV reported that North Korea tested about three short-range missiles off its east coast. The missiles reportedly have a range of about 100 kilometers (62 miles).

"North Korea appears to be developing new missiles that would replace it old Soviet-designed anti-ship missiles," South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok said.

Meanwhile, according to the Korean Observer, South Korea and Japan have agreed to delay talks on a deal that will see both countries exchanging military information about North Korea.

The Ministry of National Defense made the announcement on Monday, when a secluded three-day bilateral conference between Tadashi Miyagawa, Japan's chief of intelligence bureau and Cho Bo-geun, his South Korean counterpart, was set to begin.

"There has been some difference in their positions," Kim Min-seok said. He added that discussions between both countries are currently in progress. "When the two will meet is not yet fixed. Discussions are under way."

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