South Koreans investigated for trying to defect to North Korea

Three South Koreans, including a medical doctor, are being investigated after allegedly trying to defect to North Korea.

 Prosecutors in Seoul have applied for arrest warrants for the three suspects who attempted to defect while on a trip to China last February, South Korea's official Yonhap news agency reported.

It is extremely unusual for South Koreans to attempt to defect to the North.

The three are said to have met through an online community forum and decided to defect after becoming "disillusioned" with life in the South, according to sources at the prosecutors' office quoted by Yonhap.