A United States national entered North Korea during a tour of the heavily-fortified border and is believed to have been detained, the United Nations Command said Tuesday.
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“A US national on a JSA orientation tour crossed, without authorisation, the Military Demarcation Line into the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK),” the UN Command said, referring to the Joint Security Area and the border between the Koreas.
“We believe he is currently in DPRK custody and are working with our KPA counterparts to resolve this incident,” it added, referring to the North’s Korean People’s Army.
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
Since the 1950-1953 Korean War ended with an armistice not a peace treaty the two countries remain technically at war, with a Demilitarised Zone running along the heavily-fortified border.
Soldiers from both sides face off at the Joint Security Area north of Seoul, which is overseen by the United Nations Command.
It is also a popular tourist destination, and hundreds of visitors every day tour the area on the South Korean side.
Former US president Donald Trump met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the Panmunjom Truce Village in 2019 and even stood on the North Korean soil by stepping across the demarcation line there.
In general, defections between the two Koreas are rare, but far more…
