The man was reportedly taking part in a tour to the Joint Security Area
A US national has been detained by North Korean authorities after he crossed the military border without permission. Notably, the unnamed person was on a tour of the Joint Security Area, part of the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea, NBC News reported.
The Korean border line is marked by 1,292 identical signs at staggered intervals across the peninsula.
”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 U.N. Command said in a tweet.
”We believe he is currently in DPRK custody and is working with our KPA counterparts to resolve this incident,” the tweet added.
See the tweet here:
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). We believe he is currently in DPRK custody and are working with our KPA counterparts to resolve this incident. pic.twitter.com/a6amvnJTuY
— United Nations Command 유엔군사령부/유엔사 (@UN_Command) July 18, 2023
The tweet gave no further details on the person’s identity or why he crossed the border.
However, South Korea’s Dong-a Ilbo daily, citing the South Korean military, reported that the person was a U.S. Army soldier in the rank of private second class. However, that has not been confirmed.
As per a Guardian report, 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.
However, cases of Americans or South Koreans defecting to North Korea are rare.
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