A South Korean newspaper, citing the armed forces, reported that the person who crossed the border was a military personnel. This was later confirmed by the United States.
From the United Nations Command Center in South Korea a report A US citizen crossed the border from the south without permission and headed north.
It is believed that the person is being held in North Korea, and the South is working with the North Korean military to resolve the incident. A South Korean newspaper, citing the armed forces, reported that the person who crossed the border was a military personnel.
The two Koreas are separated by a 250-kilometer Demilitarized Zone, and the border is one of the most fortified in the world, secured with mines, electric fences, barbed wire, and surveillance technology, with armed guards patrolling 24 hours a day.
The US State Department has banned its citizens from entering North Korea due to the constant risk of arrest and prolonged detention. The rule came into effect in 2015 after North Korean authorities arrested a student named Otto Warmbier while he was traveling in the country.
Update: He was truly an American soldier
the BBC Referring to CBS News, he wrote in the afternoon that the name of the soldier held in North Korea was Travis King. It is not known why King crossed into North Korea, but an eyewitness said it appeared to have been intentional.
The North Koreans don’t treat American prisoners with gloves. The BBC reminds us: In 2018, Pyongyang released an American college student who had been imprisoned for stealing a hotel sign. He returned to the United States in a coma and later died.
And the US State Department said, at noon on Tuesday, that it is aware that a US military officer crossed the demarcation line intentionally and without permission, and added that it was consulting with the Department of Defense on how to provide him with assistance.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told a news conference that the most important thing at the moment was King’s well-being.
