A U.S. soldier has been detained in North Korea after crossing over the Military Demarcation Line. The UN is working to resolve the incident as the U.S. does not have diplomatic or consular relations with North Korea.
The identity of the individual and their reasons for crossing are not yet known.
From Fox News:
The U.N. Command earlier said that a U.S. national on a tour to the joint security area between North and South Korea crossed the Military Demarcation Line without authorization and is now believed to be in detained in North Korea.
“A U.S. National on a JSA orientation tour crossed, without authorization, the Military Demarcation Line into the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK),” the peacekeeping force said in a tweet. “We believe he is currently in DPRK custody and are working with our Korean People’s Army counterparts to resolve this 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 since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, according to The Associated Press.
The Korean border village of Panmunjom, located inside the 154-mile-long Demilitarized Zone, was created at the close of the Korean War. The area is jointly overseen by the U.N. Command and North Korea.
This story is developing…
UPDATE: US soldier held by North Korea NAMED by South Korean media https://t.co/DhFzQWs7ej
— Mirror Breaking News (@MirrorBreaking_) July 18, 2023