An American soldier has been taken into custody by North Korea after crossing the Military Demarcation Line, according to a senior U.S. official speaking to Fox News.
The U.N. Command confirmed that a U.S. national, who was on a tour of the joint security area between North and South Korea, crossed the Military Demarcation Line without authorization and is now believed to be detained in North Korea.
In a tweet, the peacekeeping force stated, "A U.S. National on a JSA orientation tour crossed, without authorization, the Military Demarcation Line into the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK). We believe he is currently in DPRK custody and are working with our Korean People's Army counterparts to resolve this incident." The identity of the individual has not been disclosed at this time.
The State Department advises against travel to North Korea due to the ongoing serious risk of arrest and long-term detention of U.S. nationals. In a travel advisory, it further explains that the U.S. government is unable to provide emergency services to U.S. citizens in North Korea due to the absence of diplomatic or consular relations.
Instances of Americans or South Koreans defecting to North Korea are rare. However, more than 30,000 North Koreans have fled to South Korea since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War to escape political oppression and economic hardships, as reported by The Associated Press.
The Korean border village of Panmunjom, situated within the 154-mile-long Demilitarized Zone, was established at the conclusion of the Korean War. The area is jointly overseen by the U.N. Command and North Korea.
Login