DrThe American soldier, who is believed to be in North Korean custody after crossing the border from South Korea into North Korea, was previously in a prison in South Korea. According to a Seoul official, the man has been detained for nearly two months on charges of assault. The official told AFP on Wednesday that he was released on July 10.
The soldier had crossed the heavily secured border from South Korea into North Korea during a sightseeing tour. A US Armed Forces spokesperson said on Tuesday that this was done „intentionally and without permission”. He is now believed to be in North Korean custody. The incident could exacerbate strained relations between Washington and Pyongyang.
The United Nations Command in the region also said a US citizen had crossed the border and was believed to be in North Korean custody. US forces and the United Nations Command said they would work with North Korean forces to resolve the incident.
According to the US military, the soldier is a man named Travis King. He has been in the army since 2021. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said Washington is closely monitoring and studying the situation.
South Korean police said King was under investigation for assault in September 2022. However, he was reportedly not arrested at the time.
A soldier joined a tour group
The US station CBS reported that the soldier should have been removed from the country for disciplinary reasons. However, after passing security checks at the airport, he was able to turn around and join a group of visitors to the Demilitarized Zone.
An eyewitness who said he was on the same tour told CBS that the group was visiting a building on campus when „this guy yells out loud 'Hahaha and walks between some buildings. '” The witness said, „At first I thought it was a bad joke, but when he didn’t come back I realized it wasn’t a joke.”
South Korea and North Korea are still officially at war today because no peace treaty was signed after the Korean War from 1950 to 1953. A demilitarized zone has separated the two Koreas since the end of the war. The areas adjacent to the border strip are heavily guarded.
The demilitarized zone is also a popular tourist destination. Hundreds of visitors visit the area on the South Korean side every day.
North Korea closed its borders at the beginning of the Corona pandemic in 2020 and has not opened its doors to this day. The presence of security personnel on the North Korean side of the Joint Security Area in the Demilitarized Zone has also been significantly reduced. When AFP toured the Joint Security Area earlier in the year, no North Korean guards were seen in the area. However, neither South Korean nor American soldiers are allowed to cross the border to bring back a US citizen, as in this case.
Relations between North and South Korea are at an all-time low. South Korea is one of America’s allies, while communist North Korea counts the United States among its biggest enemies.
North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles early Wednesday morning, according to the South Korean military. They landed in the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan. It was supposedly a response to the stationing of a nuclear-armed US Navy submarine in South Korea, which the US announced on Tuesday.
The last time the United States sent one of its nuclear-capable submarines to South Korea was in 1981. Washington struck a deal with Seoul in April to bolster South Korea’s nuclear shield.
North Korean ruler Kim Jong-un has repeatedly threatened military escalation in the region and declared that he would „significantly” expand his nuclear arsenal. Therefore, Washington and Seoul have been warning for months that North Korea may test nuclear weapons in the near future. This will be the first test of its kind since 2017. Panmunjeom gained worldwide fame in 2019 when US President Donald Trump met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for a handshake there. Trump also set foot in North Korea that day.
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