US soldier Travis King detained in North Korea after crossing border in wild escape from superiors – latest

Low buildings, blue huts and gloomy soldiers characterize the border village of Panmunjom within the DMZ, the demilitarized zone, the strip of land between North and South Korea, where a US soldier made his way north on a journey under still unclear circumstances.

The soldier was touring the fabled border town within the heavily fortified 154-mile (248-kilometer) DMZ when the crossing took place, US officials said Tuesday. It remained unknown what prompted the soldier’s actions or what his motives might have been. The soldier was believed to be in North Korean custody.

The DMZ is lined on both sides with observation posts, with soldiers carefully monitoring the border and each other for signs of infraction. North and South Korea have technically remained at war since Korean War hostilities ended and an armistice was signed in Panmunjom in 1953. Neither nation has direct jurisdiction over Panmunjom, where a concrete slab separates the two nations.

The US soldier who left for North Korea from a civilian tour group in the DMZ has been identified as Private 2nd Class Travis King.

US officials said CBS News that Private King was released from military detention in South Korea and that he was being sent out of the country due to disciplinary issues.

said Colonel Isaac Taylor of United States Forces Korea Public Affairs The Independent: “A US military personnel intentionally and without authorization crossed the military demarcation line into the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) while on a JSA orientation tour. We understand he is currently in DPRK custody and are working with our KPA colleagues to investigate this incident.”

An anonymous official told The Washington Post that “This was a conscious decision on the part of the military personnel to cross the border”.

Colonel Isaac Taylor narrated Reuters that “we are still researching something about this and everything that happened”.

The Independent has reached out to the US Army for comment.

A US official said CBS News that the soldier was escorted back to the US due to disciplinary issues but was able to return after airport security and participate in the border tour.

According to the local press, a foreign national crossed the border at 3:27 p.m. local time – 2:27 a.m. ET.

One person said they witnessed what happened and took the tour with the US soldier CBS News that they had visited one of the buildings in the area when “this man lets out a loud ‘ha ha ha’ and just walks between some buildings”.

“At first I thought it was a bad joke but when he didn’t come back I realized it wasn’t a joke and then everyone reacted and things went crazy,” they told dem spout.

The witness told the broadcaster that no North Korean soldiers were seen where the man was running, adding that he had been told there had been no soldiers there since the pandemic, when North Korea tried to completely close its borders had been.

The witness said after the man crossed the border, the tour group were taken to Freedom House to testify and then taken to their bus.

“I’m telling you this because it actually hit me pretty hard,” the witness told CBS News. “It was on the way back on the bus, and we got to one of the checkpoints … Someone said we were 43 going in and 42 coming back.”

The US soldier, who was arrested after crossing the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) from South Korea into North Korea, let out a loud “ha ha ha” as he ran towards the border, a witness said.

The soldier was part of a group that toured the Common Security Zone — the border village in the demilitarized zone between the two Koreas, which is closely guarded by soldiers from both sides.

The UN command said in a statement: “A US national illegally crossed the military demarcation line into the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) on an orientation tour to the JSA (Joint Security Area).”

The American citizen is believed to be currently in custody in the North, authorities said, adding: “We are working with colleagues from the North Korean Army (KPA) to investigate this incident.”

US officials later confirmed that the individual was a US soldier and was believed to be in the custody of North Korean forces.

US officials say an American has been arrested after crossing the border from South Korea North Korea was a US soldier.

There were no immediate details as to how and why the soldier crossed the heavily fortified border or if the soldier was on duty. The four officers spoke to The Associated Press on Tuesday, on condition of anonymity, to discuss the matter ahead of a public announcement.

Instances of Americans or South Koreans defecting to North Korea are rare, although since the end of the Korean War in 1950–53, more than 30,000 North Koreans have fled to South Korea to escape political oppression and economic hardship.

The crossing took place amid rising tensions over North Korea’s nuclear program. The US-led UN command monitoring the area tweeted earlier Tuesday that the detained US citizen was on a tour to the Korean border village Panmunjom and crossed the border in the north without permission.

It said he is currently in North Korean custody and that the UN command is working with its North Korean counterparts to investigate the incident.

North Korea’s state media did not immediately report the border incident.

The Ohio-class submarine USS Kentucky arrived in Busan Harbor on Tuesday afternoon, the Southern Department of Defense said. It was the first visit by a US nuclear submarine to the South since the 1980s, it said.

Regular visits to the South by American nuclear ballistic missile submarines were one of the agreements reached by the two countries in April. They also agreed to set up a bilateral nuclear advisory group and expand military exercises.

Located within the 248 km long demilitarized zone, Panmunjom was established at the end of the Korean War in 1953. The area has been the scene of numerous talks and is a popular tourist spot.

In November 2017, North Korean soldiers fired 40 shots as one of their colleagues ran south. The soldier was hit five times and later rescued under a pile of leaves on the south side of Panmunjom. He is in South Korea now.

Former US President Donald Trump met his North Korean counterpart Kim Jong-un in the DMZ in June 2019.

Washington deployed a nuclear submarine for its ally South Korea for the first time in 40 years, as officials from both countries met in Seoul to discuss strengthening their countries’ deterrent capabilities against the North.