[custom_adv] The beaming dictator walked through corridors of frozen fish piled high as he visited the fishermen on the eastern coast. [custom_adv] December temperatures in the isolated communist state average -3 C, but smiling Kim appeared to warmly greet his loyal subjects and chuckled with his military personnel in the freezers. [custom_adv] The North Korean leader is reported to have a love of fish in the form of sushi, which he washes down with Cristal champagne, often followed by a cigarette. [custom_adv] Despite his cheery demeanour, a North Korean soldier defected to South Korea today across his heavily fortified land border. [custom_adv] The rare defection came as the two Koreas push ahead with a process of reconciliation in an effort to ease tensions, despite talks between Pyongyang and Washington on the North's nuclear weapons programme stalling. [custom_adv] The incident did not trigger any gunfire, unlike last year when a North Korean soldier ran across under a hail of bullets from his own side. [custom_adv] 'A North Korean soldier was detected crossing the military demarcation line' by South Korean troops using surveillance equipment, the military Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a statement. [custom_adv] 'Related agencies plan to investigate him regarding the details of how he came to the South,' it said.