Soldier Travis King held in North Korea after crossing border on wild escape from superiors - latest updates
A US soldier has been arrested after crossing the demilitarized zone (DMZ) between South Korea and North Korea.
Colonel Isaac Taylor of United States Forces Korea Public Affairs told The Independent: “A U.S. Service member on a JSA orientation tour willfully and without authorization crossed the Military Demarcation Line into the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). We believe he is currently in DPRK custody and are working with our KPA counterparts to resolve this incident.”
The soldier has been identified as Private 2nd Class Travis King.
US officials told CBS News that Private King had been released from military detention in South Korea and that he was being sent out of the country following disciplinary issues.
The soldier was part of a group taking a tour of the Joint Security Area – the border village in the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas, which is heavily guarded by soldiers from both sides.
An anonymous official told The Washington Post that “This was a deliberate decision on part of the service member to cross”.
Key Points
US national crosses DMZ into North Korea from South, says UN border force
‘A US National on a JSA (Joint Security Area) orientation tour crossed, without authorisation, the Military Demarcation Line'
Panmunjom is a historic border village witnessing tensions, diplomacy, and tourism
07:06 , Shweta Sharma
The American soldier who defected on Tuesday did so from the Panmunjom area inside the demilitarised zone, a historic border village which is being jointly overseen by the UN and North Korea since its creation at the close of the Korean War.
Panmunjom is located inside the 248km-long (154-mile) demilitarised zone and has been a site of occasional incidents of bloodshed and cross-border firing – but also of diplomacy and tourism.
Known for its blue huts straddling concrete slabs that form the demarcation line, Panmunjom draws visitors from both sides who want to see the Cold War’s last frontier.
No civilians live at Panmunjom.
The village draws thousands of visitors each year, with North and South Korean soldiers facing off as tourists on both sides snap photographs.
The southern side of the village saw around 100,000 visitors a year before the coronavirus pandemic, when South Korea restricted gatherings to slow the spread of Covid-19. The tours resumed fully last year.
In November 2017, North Korean soldiers fired 40 rounds as one of their colleagues raced toward the South. The soldier was hit five times before he was found beneath a pile of leaves on the southern side of Panmunjom.
The soldier survived and is now in South Korea.
Americans who crossed into North Korea: CHARLES JENKINS
07:00 , AP
Born in Rich Square, N.C., Charles Jenkins was one of the few Cold War-era U.S. soldiers who fled to North Korea while serving in the South.
Jenkins, then an Army sergeant, deserted his post in 1965 and fled across the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas. North Korea treated Jenkins as a propaganda asset, showcasing him in leaflets and films.
In 1980, Jenkins married 21-year-old Hitomi Soga, a Japanese nursing student who had been abducted by North Korean agents in 1978.
Soga was allowed to return to Japan in 2002. In 2004, Jenkins was allowed to leave North Korea and rejoin his wife in Japan, where he surrendered to U.S. military authorities and faced charges that he abandoned his unit and defected to North Korea. He was dishonorably discharged and sentenced to 25 days in a U.S. military jail in Japan. He died in Japan in 2017.
A look at some American who crossed into North Korea over the past years
06:00 , AP
The U.S.-led United Nations Command is trying to secure the release of an unidentified American soldier who entered North Korea from the South Korean side of a border village.
It’s not immediately clear what motivated the soldier to cross into North Korea during a time of high tensions as the pace of both the North’s weapons demonstrations and U.S.-South Korean joint military training have intensified in a cycle of tit-for-tat.
There have been cases of Americans crossing into North Korea over the past years, including a small number of U.S. soldiers. Some of the Americans who crossed were driven by evangelical zeal or simply attracted by the mystery of a severely cloistered police state fueled by anti-U.S. hatred.
Other Americans were detained after entering North Korea as tourists. In one tragic case, it ended in death.
Here’s a look at Americans who entered North Korea in the past years:
A look at some American who crossed into North Korea over the past years
Mother of US soldier Travis King who crossed into North Korea speaks out
05:40 , Shweta Sharma
The mother of the American soldier who illegally crossed into North Korea said she was “shocked” and just wanted him to return home.
Private 2nd Class Travis King, who is in his early 20s, crossed the heavily fortified inter-Korean border to enter North Korea where he is believed to be detained. The incident has threatened a new diplomatic row and a crisis with the nuclear-armed state.
His mother, Claudine Gates, who lives in Racine, Wisconsin, told ABC News that she heard from her son “a few days ago”.
“I can’t see Travis doing anything like that,” Ms Gates said, adding that she was taken aback when she was told her son had crossed into North Korea.
Mother of US soldier detained in North Korea speaks out
VIDEO: US soldier crossed into North Korea ‘without authorisation’, defence secretary confirms
05:00 , The Independent
US soldier served two months in South Korea on assault charges, officials say
04:29 , Shweta Sharma
The US soldier who has been detained in North Korea after illegally crossing the border was held in a South Korean jail before he was released on 10 July, officials have said.
Private 2nd Class Travis King was held for nearly two months on assault charges and was supposed to be flown home to Fort Bliss, Texas to face additional military disciplinary actions, US officials said Tuesday.
The 23-year-old soldier was taken to the airport and escorted as far as customs before he escaped to avoid getting on the plane.
After leaving the airport, he joined a tour of the Korean border village of Panmunjom.
He bolted across the border, which is lined with guards and often crowded with tourists, on Tuesday afternoon local time in Korea.
A closer look at Panmunjom, the famous border town where a US soldier crossed into North Korea
04:00 , AP
Low-slung buildings, blue huts and somber soldiers dot the border village of Panmunjom inside the DMZ, or demilitarized zone, the swath of land between North and South Korea where a U.S. soldier on a tour crossed into the North under circumstances that remain unclear.
The soldier was on a tour of the storied border town, inside the heavily fortified 154-mile-long (248-kilometer-long) DMZ, when the crossing happened, U.S. officials said Tuesday. It remained unknown what prompted the soldier’s actions or what the motivations might have been. The soldier was believed to be in North Korean custody.
The DMZ is lined with observation posts on both sides, whose soldiers watch the border and each other carefully for any signs of transgression. North and South Korea remain technically in a state of war since the hostilities in Korean War ended and an armistice was signed — at Panmunjom — in 1953. Neither nation has direct jurisdiction over Panmunjom, where a concrete slab divides the two nations.
Read more:
Panmunjom: the famous border town where a US soldier crossed into North Korea
US soldier who crossed border into North Korea after fleeing airport identified as Travis King
03:15 , Gustaf Kilander
The US soldier who departed from a civilian tour group in the DMZ into North Korea has been identified as Private 2nd Class Travis King.
US officials told CBS News that Private King had been released from military detention in South Korea and that he was being sent out of the country following disciplinary issues.
Colonel Isaac Taylor of United States Forces Korea Public Affairs told The Independent: “A U.S. Service member on a JSA orientation tour willfully and without authorization crossed the Military Demarcation Line into the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). We believe he is currently in DPRK custody and are working with our KPA counterparts to resolve this incident.”
The soldier was part of a group taking a tour of the Joint Security Area – the border village in the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas, which is heavily guarded by soldiers from both sides.
The UN Command said in a statement: “A US National on a JSA (Joint Security Area) orientation tour crossed, without authorisation, the Military Demarcation Line into the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).”
Read more:
US soldier who crossed border into North Korea after fleeing airport identified
North Korean soldiers fired 40 rounds as one of their colleagues raced toward the South in 2017
02:30 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Panmunjom, located inside the 248km-long (154 miles) DMZ, was created at the close of the Korean War in 1953. The area has been a venue for numerous talks and is a popular tourist spot.
In November 2017, North Korean soldiers fired 40 rounds as one of their colleagues raced toward the South. The soldier was hit five times and later rescued from beneath a pile of leaves on the southern side of Panmunjom. He is now in South Korea.
Former US president Donald Trump met his North Korean counterpart Kim Jong-un in the DMZ in June 2019.
The arrest comes amid heightened tensions between the US and the North as Pyongyang rushes to fulfil its nuclear aspirations.
Washington deployed a nuclear-armed submarine to its ally, South Korea, for the first time in 40 years as officials from both countries met in Seoul to discuss strengthening their nations’ deterrence capabilities against the North.
Ohio-class USS Kentucky submarine arrived at the port of Busan on Tuesday afternoon, the South’s defence ministry said. It is the first visit by a US nuclear-armed submarine to the South since the 1980s, it added.
Periodic visits by US nuclear ballistic missile-capable submarines to the South were one of the agreements reached by both countries in April. They also agreed to establish a bilateral Nuclear Consultative Group and expand military exercises.
Austin: ‘I’m absolutely foremost concerned about the welfare of our troops'
01:45 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar and Gustaf Kilander
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters on Tuesday that “I’m absolutely foremost concerned about the welfare of our troops”.
The DMZ, one of the most fortified places in the world, is filled with landmines, surrounded by electric and barbed wire fencing and surveillance cameras.
While there are very few cases of Americans or South Koreans defecting to the North, more than 30,000 North Koreans are believed to have crossed the border to the South since the 1950s.
Washington has banned American nationals from entering North Korea “due to the continuing serious risk of arrest and long-term detention of US nationals”.
“The US government is unable to provide emergency services to US citizens in North Korea as it does not have diplomatic or consular relations with North Korea,” the US travel advisory for North Korea reads.
The ban was implemented after American college student Otto Warmbier was detained by the North while on a tour of the country in 2015. He died in 2017, days after he was released from prison and returned to the US in a coma.
‘This was a deliberate decision on part of the service member to cross'
01:25 , Gustaf Kilander
An anonymous official told The Washington Post that: “This was a deliberate decision on part of the service member to cross.”
An anonymous Pentagon official told NPR that the soldier was dressed in civilian clothes when the incident took place and that he was facing disciplinary action in the US.
A woman who said she was part of the tour group said they were at the last stop when she heard the loud “ha ha ha” and then she saw the man, who had spent the day with the group, running “between two of the buildings and over to the other side”.
“It took everybody a second to react and grasp what had actually happened,” she wrote on Facebook in a since-deleted post, according to NPR. “Then we were ordered into and through Freedom House and running back to our military bus.”
‘We were 43 going in and 42 coming back’
01:00 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar and Gustaf Kilander
An individual who said they witnessed what took place and was taking part in the tour along with the US soldier told CBS News that they had visited one of the buildings in the area when “this man gives out a loud ‘ha ha ha,’ and just runs in between some buildings”.
“I thought it was a bad joke at first, but when he didn’t come back, I realised it wasn’t a joke, and then everybody reacted and things got crazy,” they told the outlet.
The witness told the network that no North Korean soldiers could be seen where the man ran, adding that they had been told that there hadn’t been any present since the pandemic as North Korea attempted to fully close its borders.
The witness said that after the man had crossed the border, the tour group was taken to Freedom House to give statements and then to be taken to their bus.
“I’m telling you this because it actually hit me quite hard,” the witness told CBS News. “It was on the way back in the bus, and we got to one of the checkpoints ... Someone said we were 43 going in and 42 coming back.”
‘We believe he is currently in DPRK custody'
00:15 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar and Gustaf Kilander
The UN Command in a statement said: “A US National on a JSA (Joint Security Area) orientation tour crossed, without authorisation, the Military Demarcation Line into the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).”
Authorities said that “we are working with KPA (North Korean army) counterparts to resolve this incident”.
A US official told CBS News that the service member was able to return and join the border tour after going through airport security.
According to the local press, a foreign national crossed the border at 1527 local time [0637 GMT].
Colonel Isaac Taylor of United States Forces Korea Public Affairs told The Independent: “A U.S. Service member on a JSA orientation tour willfully and without authorization crossed the Military Demarcation Line into the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). We believe he is currently in DPRK custody and are working with our KPA counterparts to resolve this incident.”
Troubled US soldier Travis King seized by North Korea after fleeing across border disguised as tourist
23:30 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar and Gustaf Kilander
A US soldier facing disciplinary action fled across the inter-Korean border into North Korea on Tuesday, where he is being held in custody, US officials said.
Private 2nd Class Travis King had just been released from a South Korean prison where he had been held on assault charges and was facing additional military disciplinary actions in the US.
Mr King, who is in his early 20s, was escorted to the airport to be returned to Fort Bliss, Texas, but instead of getting on the aircraft he left and joined a tour of the Korean border village of Panmunjom, where he ran across the border.
While crossing the demilitarised zone (DMZ) he gave out a loud “ha ha ha”, a witness has said.
He had joined a group taking a tour of the Joint Security Area – the border village in the DMZ separating the two Koreas, which is heavily guarded by soldiers from both sides.
Read more:
Troubled US soldier Travis King seized by North Korea after fleeing across border
Army shares Pte King service record
22:45 , Gustaf Kilander
Bryce Dubee, an Army spokesperson shared the following information about Pte King:
“PV2 Travis T. King is a 19D (Cavalry Scout) in the Regular Army from January 2021 to present. He has no deployments. During his Korean Force Rotation he was originally assigned to 6th Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division and is currently administratively attached to 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division. His awards include the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Defense Service Medal and Overseas Service Ribbon.”
Americans who crossed into North Korea: OTTO WARMBIER
22:00 , AP
Otto Warmbier, a 22-year-old University of Virginia student, died in June 2017, shortly after he was flown home in a vegetative state after 17 months in North Korean captivity.
Warmbier was seized by North Korean authorities from a tour group in January 2016 and convicted on charges of trying to steal a propaganda poster and sentenced to 15 years of hard labor.
While not providing a clear reason for Warmbier’s brain damage, North Korea denied accusations by Warmbier’s family that he was tortured and insisted that it had provided him medical care with “all sincerity.” The North accused the United States of a smear campaign and claimed itself as the “biggest victim” in his death.
In 2022, a U.S. federal judge in New York ruled that Warmbier’s parents — Fred and Cindy Warmbier — should receive $240,300 seized from a North Korean bank account, which would be a partial payment toward the more than $501 million they were awarded in 2018 by a federal judge in Washington.
Americans who crossed into North Korea: JEFFREY FOWLE
21:30 , AP
A month before Bae and Miller’s release, North Korea also freed Jeffrey Fowle, an Ohio municipal worker who was detained for six months for leaving a Bible in a nightclub in the city of Chongjin. Fowle’s release followed negotiations that involved retired diplomat and former Ohio Congressman Tony Hall.
While North Korea officially guarantees freedom of religion, analysts and defectors describe the country as strictly anti-religious. The distribution of Bibles and secret prayer services can mean imprisonment or execution, defectors say.
In 2009, American missionary Robert Park walked into North Korea with a Bible in his hand to draw attention to North Korea’s human rights abuses. Park, who was deported from the North in February 2010, has said he was tortured by authorities.
Americans who crossed into North Korea: KENNETH BAE
21:00 , AP
Bae, a Korean-American missionary from Lynnwood, Washington, was arrested in November 2012 while leading a tour group in a special North Korean economic zone.
North Korea sentenced Bae to 15 years in prison for “hostile acts,” including smuggling in inflammatory literature and attempting to establish a base for anti-government activities at a hotel in a border town. Bae’s family said he suffered from chronic health issues, including back pain, diabetes, and heart and liver problems.
Bae returned to the United States in November 2014 following a secret mission by James Clapper, then-U.S. director of national intelligence who also secured Miller’s release.
Americans who crossed into North Korea: MATTHEW MILLER
20:30 , AP
In September 2014, then a 24-year-old from Bakersfield, California, Matthew Miller was sentenced to six years of hard labor by North Korea’s Supreme Court on charges that he illegally entered the country for spying purposes.
The court claimed that Miller tore up his tourist visa upon arriving at Pyongyang’s airport in April that year and admitted to a “wild ambition” of experiencing North Korean prison life so that he could secretly investigate the country’s human rights conditions.
North Korea’s initial announcement about Miller’s detainment that month came as then-President Barack Obama was traveling in South Korea on a state visit.
Miller was freed in November that same year along with another American, Kenneth Bae, a missionary and tour leader.
Weeks before his release, Miller talked with The Associated Press at a Pyongyang hotel where North Korean officials allowed him to call his family. Miller said he was digging in fields eight hours a day and being kept in isolation.
Americans who crossed into North Korea: CHARLES JENKINS
20:00 , AP
Born in Rich Square, N.C., Charles Jenkins was one of the few Cold War-era U.S. soldiers who fled to North Korea while serving in the South.
Jenkins, then an Army sergeant, deserted his post in 1965 and fled across the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas. North Korea treated Jenkins as a propaganda asset, showcasing him in leaflets and films.
In 1980, Jenkins married 21-year-old Hitomi Soga, a Japanese nursing student who had been abducted by North Korean agents in 1978.
Soga was allowed to return to Japan in 2002. In 2004, Jenkins was allowed to leave North Korea and rejoin his wife in Japan, where he surrendered to U.S. military authorities and faced charges that he abandoned his unit and defected to North Korea. He was dishonorably discharged and sentenced to 25 days in a U.S. military jail in Japan. He died in Japan in 2017.
A look at some American who crossed into North Korea over the past years
19:30 , AP
The U.S.-led United Nations Command is trying to secure the release of an unidentified American soldier who entered North Korea from the South Korean side of a border village.
It’s not immediately clear what motivated the soldier to cross into North Korea during a time of high tensions as the pace of both the North’s weapons demonstrations and U.S.-South Korean joint military training have intensified in a cycle of tit-for-tat.
There have been cases of Americans crossing into North Korea over the past years, including a small number of U.S. soldiers. Some of the Americans who crossed were driven by evangelical zeal or simply attracted by the mystery of a severely cloistered police state fueled by anti-U.S. hatred.
Other Americans were detained after entering North Korea as tourists. In one tragic case, it ended in death.
Here’s a look at Americans who entered North Korea in the past years:
A look at some American who crossed into North Korea over the past years
VIDEO: US soldier crossed into North Korea ‘without authorisation’, defence secretary confirms
19:00 , The Independent
A closer look at Panmunjom, the famous border town where a US soldier crossed into North Korea
18:30 , AP
Low-slung buildings, blue huts and somber soldiers dot the border village of Panmunjom inside the DMZ, or demilitarized zone, the swath of land between North and South Korea where a U.S. soldier on a tour crossed into the North under circumstances that remain unclear.
The soldier was on a tour of the storied border town, inside the heavily fortified 154-mile-long (248-kilometer-long) DMZ, when the crossing happened, U.S. officials said Tuesday. It remained unknown what prompted the soldier’s actions or what the motivations might have been. The soldier was believed to be in North Korean custody.
The DMZ is lined with observation posts on both sides, whose soldiers watch the border and each other carefully for any signs of transgression. North and South Korea remain technically in a state of war since the hostilities in Korean War ended and an armistice was signed — at Panmunjom — in 1953. Neither nation has direct jurisdiction over Panmunjom, where a concrete slab divides the two nations.
Read more:
Panmunjom: the famous border town where a US soldier crossed into North Korea
US soldier who crossed border into North Korea after fleeing airport identified as Travis King
18:00 , Gustaf Kilander
The US soldier who departed from a civilian tour group in the DMZ into North Korea has been identified as Private 2nd Class Travis King.
US officials told CBS News that Private King has been released from military detention in South Korea and that he was being sent out of the country following disciplinary issues.
Read more:
US soldier who crossed border into North Korea after fleeing airport identified
‘We believe he is currently in DPRK custody and are working with our KPA counterparts to resolve this incident'
17:30 , Gustaf Kilander
Colonel Isaac Taylor of United States Forces Korea Public Affairs told The Independent: “A U.S. Service member on a JSA orientation tour willfully and without authorization crossed the Military Demarcation Line into the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). We believe he is currently in DPRK custody and are working with our KPA counterparts to resolve this incident.”
‘This was a deliberate decision on part of the service member to cross'
17:00 , Gustaf Kilander
An anonymous official told The Washington Post that “This was a deliberate decision on part of the service member to cross”.
Colonel Isaac Taylor told Reuters that “We’re still doing some research into this, and everything that happened”.
The Independent has reached out to the US Army for comment.
‘This man gives out a loud ‘ha ha ha,’ and just runs in between some buildings’
16:30 , Gustaf Kilander
A US official told CBS News that the service member was being escorted back to the US following disciplinary issues but was able to return and join the border tour after going through airport security.
According to the local press, a foreign national crossed the border at 3.27pm local time – 2.27am ET.
An individual who said they witnessed what took place and was taking part in the tour along with the US soldier told CBS News that they had visited one of the buildings in the area when “this man gives out a loud ‘ha ha ha,’ and just runs in between some buildings”.
“I thought it was a bad joke at first, but when he didn’t come back, I realised it wasn’t a joke, and then everybody reacted and things got crazy,” they told the outlet.
The witness told the network that no North Korean soldiers could be seen where the man ran, adding that they had been told that there hadn’t been any present since the pandemic as North Korea attempted to fully close its borders.
The witness said that after the man had crossed the border, the tour group was taken to Freedom House to give statements and then to be taken to their bus.
“I’m telling you this because it actually hit me quite hard,” the witness told CBS News. “It was on the way back in the bus, and we got to one of the checkpoints ... Someone said we were 43 going in and 42 coming back.”
US soldier gave out loud ‘ha ha ha’ before crossing DMZ into North Korea, witness says
16:00 , Gustaf Kilander and Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
The US soldier arrested after crossing the demilitarized zone (DMZ) from South Korea into North Korea gave out a loud “ha ha ha” as he ran towards the border, a witness has said.
The soldier was part of a group taking a tour of the Joint Security Area – the border village in the demilitarised zone separating the two Koreas, which is heavily guarded by soldiers from both sides.
The UN Command in a statement said: “A US National on a JSA (Joint Security Area) orientation tour crossed, without authorisation, the Military Demarcation Line into the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).”
The American national is believed to be currently in custody in the North, the authorities said, adding that “we are working with KPA (North Korean army) counterparts to resolve this incident”.
US officials later confirmed that the individual was a US service member and that he was thought to be in the custody of North Korean forces.
Read more:
US soldier gave out ‘ha ha ha’ before crossing DMZ into North Korea, witness says
The American detained in North Korea after crossing the border was a US soldier, officials tell AP
15:40 , AP
U.S. officials say an American detained after crossing the border from South Korea into North Korea was a U.S. soldier.
There were no immediate details about how or why the soldier crossed the heavily fortified border or whether the soldier was on duty. The four officials spoke to The Associated Press on Tuesday on the condition of anonymity to discuss the matter ahead of a public announcement.
Cases of Americans or South Koreans defecting to North Korea are rare, though more than 30,000 North Koreans have fled to South Korea to avoid political oppression and economic difficulties since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War.
The crossing happened during heightened tensions over North Korea’s nuclear program. The American-led U.N. Command overseeing the area tweeted earlier Tuesday that the detained U.S. citizen was on a tour to the Korean border village of Panmunjom and crossed the border into the North without authorization.
It said that he is currently in North Korean custody and that the U.N. Command is working with its North Korean counterparts to resolve the incident.
North Korea’s state media didn’t immediately report on the border incident.
VIDEO: U.S. Army Soldier Taken Into Custody by North Korea After Crossing Joint Security Area Border
15:20 , Gustaf Kilander
US nuclear-armed submarine visits South for first time since the 1980s
15:00 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Ohio-class USS Kentucky submarine arrived at the port of Busan on Tuesday afternoon, the South’s defence ministry said. It is the first visit by a US nuclear-armed submarine to the South since the 1980s, it added.
Periodic visits by US nuclear ballistic missile-capable submarines to the South were one of the agreements reached by both countries in April. They also agreed to establish a bilateral Nuclear Consultative Group and expand military exercises.
In November 2017, North Korean soldiers fired 40 rounds as one of their colleagues raced toward the South
14:45 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Panmunjom, located inside the 248km-long demilitarised zone, was created at the close of the Korean War in 1953. The area has been a venue for numerous talks and is a popular tourist spot.
In November 2017, North Korean soldiers fired 40 rounds as one of their colleagues raced toward the South. The soldier was hit five times and later rescued from beneath a pile of leaves on the southern side of Panmunjom. He is now in South Korea.
Former US president Donald Trump met his North Korean counterpart Kim Jong-un in the DMZ in June 2019.
The arrest comes amid heightened tensions between the US and the North as Pyongyang rushes to fulfil its nuclear aspirations.
Washington deployed a nuclear-armed submarine to its ally, South Korea, for the first time in 40 years as officials from both countries met in Seoul to discuss strengthening their nations’ deterrence capabilities against the North.
Border crossing happened amid high tensions over North Korea’s barrage of missile tests
14:30 , AP
Tuesday’s border crossing happened amid high tensions over North Korea’s barrage of missile tests since the start of last year.
The United States earlier Tuesday sent a nuclear-armed submarine to South Korea for the first time in decades as deterrence against North Korea.
Americans detained in South Korea often freed after high-profile US missions
14:15 , AP
In November 2017, North Korean soldiers fired 40 rounds as one of their colleagues raced toward freedom. The soldier was hit five times before he was found beneath a pile of leaves on the southern side of Panmunjom. He survived and is now in South Korea.
There have been a small number of U.S. soldiers who fled to North Korea during the Cold War, including Charles Jenkins, who deserted his army post in South Korea in 1965 and fled across the DMZ. He appeared in North Korean propaganda films and married a Japanese nursing student who had been abducted by North Korean agents. He died in Japan in 2017.
In recent years, some Americans have been arrested in North Korea after allegedly entering the country from China. They were later convicted of espionage and other anti-state acts, but were often released after the U.S. sent high-profile missions to secure their freedom.
In 2018, North Korea released the last three known American detainees as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was engaged in nuclear diplomacy with then-President Donald Trump. The high-stakes diplomacy collapsed in 2019 amid wrangling over U.S.-led sanctions on North Korea.
DMZ filled with landmines, surrounded by electric and barbed wire fencing and surveillance cameras
14:00 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
The DMZ, one of the most fortified places in the world, is filled with landmines, surrounded by electric and barbed wire fencing and surveillance cameras.
While there are very few cases of Americans or South Koreans defecting to the North, more than 30,000 North Koreans are believed to have crossed the border to the south since the 1950s.
Washington has banned American nationals from entering North Korea “due to the continuing serious risk of arrest and long-term detention of US nationals”.
“The US government is unable to provide emergency services to US citizens in North Korea as it does not have diplomatic or consular relations with North Korea,” the US travel advisory for North Korea reads.
The ban was implemented after American college student Otto Warmbier was detained by the North while on a tour of the country in 2015. He died in 2017, days after he was released from prison and returned to the US in a coma.
An American national has crossed into North Korea without authorization and has been detained
13:45 , AP
An American has crossed the heavily fortified border from South Korea into North Korea, the American-led U.N. Command overseeing the area said Tuesday, amid heightened tensions over North Korea’s nuclear program.
The U.N. Command tweeted that the U.S. citizen was on a tour to the Korean border village of Panmunjom and crossed the border into the North without authorization.
It said he is currently in North Korean custody and that the U.N. Command is working with its North Korean counterparts to resolve the incident.
Cases of Americans or South Koreans defecting to North Korea are rare, though more than 30,000 North Koreans have fled to South Korea to avoid political oppression and economic difficulties at home since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War.
Panmunjom, located inside the 248-kilometer (154-mile)-long Demilitarized Zone, was created at the close of the Korean War. Bloodshed and gunfire have occasionally occurred there, but it has also been a venue for numerous talks and a popular tourist spot.
The area is jointly overseen by the U.N. Command and North Korea. No civilians live at Panmunjom.
‘A US National on a JSA (Joint Security Area) orientation tour crossed, without authorisation, the Military Demarcation Line'
13:34 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
The UN Command in a statement said: “A US National on a JSA (Joint Security Area) orientation tour crossed, without authorisation, the Military Demarcation Line into the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).”
The American national is believed to be currently in custody in the North, the authorities said, adding that “we are working with KPA (North Korean army) counterparts to resolve this incident.”
US national crosses DMZ into North Korea from South, says UN border force
13:33 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
An American citizen has been arrested after crossing the demilitarised zone (DMZ) from South Korea into North Korea, according to the UN Command which oversees the border.
The person was part of a group taking a tour of the Joint Security Area – the border village in the demilitarised zone separating the two Koreas which is heavily guarded by soldiers from both sides.
Read more:
American national crosses DMZ into North Korea from South, says UN
VIDEO: US soldier crossed into North Korea ‘without authorisation’, defence secretary confirms
22:33 , The Independent
