North Korea arrests US soldier who crossed border without permission
North Korean defectors deported back from South Korea in 2019
An American soldier entered North Korea during a tour of the heavily-fortified border and is believed to have been detained, the United Nations Command said Tuesday.
Multiple reports say the male US soldier Travis King crossed the border without permission at 3.27pm local time.
In a statement, the multinational military body said: “A US National on a JSA orientation tour crossed, without authorisation, 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 command did not elaborate on other details.
The Military Demarcation Line, sometimes referred to as the Armistice Line, is the border between North Korea and South Korea. It is surrounded by a demilitarised zone.
Sneaking into North Korea has proved to be a powerful temptation for some Americans.
Some are driven by religious zeal, others simply attracted by the mystery of a remote and cloistered country that seems the polar opposite of anything they had experienced.
While the majority of Americans detained by North Korea have been released in relatively good condition, Otto Warmbier, a 22-year-old University of Virginia student, died back in June 2017 shortly after he was flown home comatose after 17 months in captivity.
Warmbier was seized from a tour group while visiting North Korea in January 2016 and convicted on charges of trying to steal a propaganda poster and sentenced to 15 years of hard labor.
North Korea denied accusations by relatives that it tortured Warmbier and said he was provided “medical treatments and care with all sincerity”.
The North accused the United States of a smear campaign and called itself the “biggest victim” in his death.
Last year, a federal judge ruled that Otto’s parents should receive $240,300 (£180,000) seized from a North Korean bank account.
The amount would be a partial payment toward the more than $501 million (£380 million) Fred and Cindy Warmbier of Wyoming, Ohio, were awarded in 2018 by a federal judge in Washington, D.C.
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