A North Korean man has crossed the heavily guarded maritime border into South Korea, local media reported on Friday. The man had crossed the maritime border near South Korea’s border island of Baengnyeongdo in the Yellow Sea on a wooden boat on September 17, the South Korean news agency Yonhap reported, citing a military official. Yonhap reported that this was the third defection by a North Korean national in two months. Many North Koreans leave their impoverished and authoritarian country every year in search of a better life, but attempts to escape by sea are rare. Most people wishing to esc…