Soldier Travis King held in North Korea after crossing border on wild escape from superiors - latest updates
A US soldier has been arrested after crossing the demilitarized zone (DMZ) between South Korea and North Korea.
Colonel Isaac Taylor of United States Forces Korea Public Affairs told The Independent: “A U.S. Service member on a JSA orientation tour willfully and without authorization crossed 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.”
The soldier was part of a group taking a tour of the Joint Security Area – the border village in the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas, which is heavily guarded by soldiers from both sides.
The UN Command said in a statement: “A US National on a JSA (Joint Security Area) orientation tour crossed, without authorisation, the Military Demarcation Line into the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).”
An anonymous official told The Washington Post that “This was a deliberate decision on part of the service member to cross”.
Key Points
US national crosses DMZ into North Korea from South, says UN border force
‘A US National on a JSA (Joint Security Area) orientation tour crossed, without authorisation, the Military Demarcation Line'
‘This was a deliberate decision on part of the service member to cross'
17:00 , Gustaf Kilander
An anonymous official told The Washington Post that “This was a deliberate decision on part of the service member to cross”.
Colonel Isaac Taylor told Reuters that “We’re still doing some research into this, and everything that happened”.
The Independent has reached out to the US Army for comment.
‘This man gives out a loud ‘ha ha ha,’ and just runs in between some buildings’
16:30 , Gustaf Kilander
A US official told CBS News that the service member was being escorted back to the US following disciplinary issues but was able to return and join the border tour after going through airport security.
According to the local press, a foreign national crossed the border at 3.27pm local time – 2.27am ET.
An individual who said they witnessed what took place and was taking part in the tour along with the US soldier told CBS News that they had visited one of the buildings in the area when “this man gives out a loud ‘ha ha ha,’ and just runs in between some buildings”.
“I thought it was a bad joke at first, but when he didn’t come back, I realised it wasn’t a joke, and then everybody reacted and things got crazy,” they told the outlet.
The witness told the network that no North Korean soldiers could be seen where the man ran, adding that they had been told that there hadn’t been any present since the pandemic as North Korea attempted to fully close its borders.
The witness said that after the man had crossed the border, the tour group was taken to Freedom House to give statements and then to be taken to their bus.
“I’m telling you this because it actually hit me quite hard,” the witness told CBS News. “It was on the way back in the bus, and we got to one of the checkpoints ... Someone said we were 43 going in and 42 coming back.”
US soldier gave out loud ‘ha ha ha’ before crossing DMZ into North Korea, witness says
16:00 , Gustaf Kilander and Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
The US soldier arrested after crossing the demilitarized zone (DMZ) from South Korea into North Korea gave out a loud “ha ha ha” as he ran towards the border, a witness has said.
The soldier was part of a group taking a tour of the Joint Security Area – the border village in the demilitarised zone separating the two Koreas, which is heavily guarded by soldiers from both sides.
The UN Command in a statement said: “A US National on a JSA (Joint Security Area) orientation tour crossed, without authorisation, the Military Demarcation Line into the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).”
The American national is believed to be currently in custody in the North, the authorities said, adding that “we are working with KPA (North Korean army) counterparts to resolve this incident”.
US officials later confirmed that the individual was a US service member and that he was thought to be in the custody of North Korean forces.
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US soldier gave out ‘ha ha ha’ before crossing DMZ into North Korea, witness says
The American detained in North Korea after crossing the border was a US soldier, officials tell AP
15:40 , AP
U.S. officials say an American detained after crossing the border from South Korea into North Korea was a U.S. soldier.
There were no immediate details about how or why the soldier crossed the heavily fortified border or whether the soldier was on duty. The four officials spoke to The Associated Press on Tuesday on the condition of anonymity to discuss the matter ahead of a public announcement.
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.
The crossing happened during heightened tensions over North Korea’s nuclear program. The American-led U.N. Command overseeing the area tweeted earlier Tuesday that the detained U.S. citizen was on a tour to the Korean border village of Panmunjom and crossed the border into the North without authorization.
It said that he is currently in North Korean custody and that the U.N. Command is working with its North Korean counterparts to resolve the incident.
North Korea’s state media didn’t immediately report on the border incident.
VIDEO: U.S. Army Soldier Taken Into Custody by North Korea After Crossing Joint Security Area Border
15:20 , Gustaf Kilander
US nuclear-armed submarine visits South for first time since the 1980s
15:00 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Ohio-class USS Kentucky submarine arrived at the port of Busan on Tuesday afternoon, the South’s defence ministry said. It is the first visit by a US nuclear-armed submarine to the South since the 1980s, it added.
Periodic visits by US nuclear ballistic missile-capable submarines to the South were one of the agreements reached by both countries in April. They also agreed to establish a bilateral Nuclear Consultative Group and expand military exercises.
In November 2017, North Korean soldiers fired 40 rounds as one of their colleagues raced toward the South
14:45 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Panmunjom, located inside the 248km-long demilitarised zone, was created at the close of the Korean War in 1953. The area has been a venue for numerous talks and is a popular tourist spot.
In November 2017, North Korean soldiers fired 40 rounds as one of their colleagues raced toward the South. The soldier was hit five times and later rescued from beneath a pile of leaves on the southern side of Panmunjom. He is now in South Korea.
Former US president Donald Trump met his North Korean counterpart Kim Jong-un in the DMZ in June 2019.
The arrest comes amid heightened tensions between the US and the North as Pyongyang rushes to fulfil its nuclear aspirations.
Washington deployed a nuclear-armed submarine to its ally, South Korea, for the first time in 40 years as officials from both countries met in Seoul to discuss strengthening their nations’ deterrence capabilities against the North.
Border crossing happened amid high tensions over North Korea’s barrage of missile tests
14:30 , AP
Tuesday’s border crossing happened amid high tensions over North Korea’s barrage of missile tests since the start of last year.
The United States earlier Tuesday sent a nuclear-armed submarine to South Korea for the first time in decades as deterrence against North Korea.
Americans detained in South Korea often freed after high-profile US missions
14:15 , AP
In November 2017, North Korean soldiers fired 40 rounds as one of their colleagues raced toward freedom. The soldier was hit five times before he was found beneath a pile of leaves on the southern side of Panmunjom. He survived and is now in South Korea.
There have been a small number of U.S. soldiers who fled to North Korea during the Cold War, including Charles Jenkins, who deserted his army post in South Korea in 1965 and fled across the DMZ. He appeared in North Korean propaganda films and married a Japanese nursing student who had been abducted by North Korean agents. He died in Japan in 2017.
In recent years, some Americans have been arrested in North Korea after allegedly entering the country from China. They were later convicted of espionage and other anti-state acts, but were often released after the U.S. sent high-profile missions to secure their freedom.
In 2018, North Korea released the last three known American detainees as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was engaged in nuclear diplomacy with then-President Donald Trump. The high-stakes diplomacy collapsed in 2019 amid wrangling over U.S.-led sanctions on North Korea.
DMZ filled with landmines, surrounded by electric and barbed wire fencing and surveillance cameras
14:00 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
The DMZ, one of the most fortified places in the world, is filled with landmines, surrounded by electric and barbed wire fencing and surveillance cameras.
While there are very few cases of Americans or South Koreans defecting to the North, more than 30,000 North Koreans are believed to have crossed the border to the south since the 1950s.
Washington has banned American nationals from entering North Korea “due to the continuing serious risk of arrest and long-term detention of US nationals”.
“The US government is unable to provide emergency services to US citizens in North Korea as it does not have diplomatic or consular relations with North Korea,” the US travel advisory for North Korea reads.
The ban was implemented after American college student Otto Warmbier was detained by the North while on a tour of the country in 2015. He died in 2017, days after he was released from prison and returned to the US in a coma.
An American national has crossed into North Korea without authorization and has been detained
13:45 , AP
An American has crossed the heavily fortified border from South Korea into North Korea, the American-led U.N. Command overseeing the area said Tuesday, amid heightened tensions over North Korea’s nuclear program.
The U.N. Command tweeted that the U.S. citizen was on a tour to the Korean border village of Panmunjom and crossed the border into the North without authorization.
It said he is currently in North Korean custody and that the U.N. Command is working with its North Korean counterparts to resolve the 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 at home since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War.
Panmunjom, located inside the 248-kilometer (154-mile)-long Demilitarized Zone, was created at the close of the Korean War. Bloodshed and gunfire have occasionally occurred there, but it has also been a venue for numerous talks and a popular tourist spot.
The area is jointly overseen by the U.N. Command and North Korea. No civilians live at Panmunjom.
‘A US National on a JSA (Joint Security Area) orientation tour crossed, without authorisation, the Military Demarcation Line'
13:34 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
The UN Command in a statement said: “A US National on a JSA (Joint Security Area) orientation tour crossed, without authorisation, the Military Demarcation Line into the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).”
The American national is believed to be currently in custody in the North, the authorities said, adding that “we are working with KPA (North Korean army) counterparts to resolve this incident.”
US national crosses DMZ into North Korea from South, says UN border force
13:33 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
An American citizen has been arrested after crossing the demilitarised zone (DMZ) from South Korea into North Korea, according to the UN Command which oversees the border.
The person was part of a group taking a tour of the Joint Security Area – the border village in the demilitarised zone separating the two Koreas which is heavily guarded by soldiers from both sides.
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American national crosses DMZ into North Korea from South, says UN
