According to reports, North Korea captured a US army member who had illegally entered its territory from South Korea.
The man was visiting the UN-run zone that separates the two nations as part of a scheduled tour.
The North, one of the world’s most isolated states, is experiencing a particularly tense period at the time of the crisis. The US warns its people against visiting.
There had been no touch with the soldier, according to a senior US commander.
US Indo-Pacific Command Commander Admiral John Aquilino stated that he was “not tracking” interaction with North Korea. The event, he claimed, was under investigation by US Forces Korea, and the soldier had acted voluntarily by “making a run” without permission.
After the soldier was taken into custody, North Korea allegedly fired two ballistic missiles into the adjacent sea.
The launch of the missile, which South Korea’s military has confirmed, occurs at a time when tensions on the Korean peninsula are at an all-time high. No evidence linking the launch to the soldier’s imprisonment has been presented.
It’s not known if the individual defected to North Korea or intends to do so. The North has not yet communicated in any way.
The soldier has been named by the Pentagon as Travis King, a Private 2nd Class (PV2). A Pentagon official said in a statement that PV2 King has served in the military since January 2021.
He was originally a cavalry scout, or reconnaissance specialist, sent to a unit of the army’s 1st Armoured Division in South Korea as part of a rotation with the US military.
According to The Associated Press, PV2 King was reportedly facing discipline after being detained in South Korea on assault accusations.
According to CBS News, a US-based partner of the BBC, PV2 King managed to sneak through airport security in Seoul but still make it outside and onto a tour of the border, where he managed to cross over.
According to the American military, he acted “willfully and without authorization.”
During the same trip, a witness told CBS that they had arrived at a building at the border that was the Panmunjom truce town, according to local media, when “this man gives out a loud ‘ha ha ha’ and just runs in between some buildings.”
They claimed, “At first, I thought it was a poor joke, but when he didn’t return, I recognised it wasn’t a joke, and then everyone responded and things got frantic.
The Joint Security Area (JSA) and Demilitarised Zone are managed by the United Nations Command, which had said that its staff had gotten in touch with the North Korean military to try to negotiate his release.
In order to resolve the matter, it added, “We believe he is currently in DPRK custody and are working with our KPA [Korean People’s Army—North Korea’s military] counterparts.”
Where and under what circumstances PV2 King is being detained are unknown.
Greg Scarlatoiu, the executive director of the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, which has its headquarters in Washington, DC, told the BBC that North Korean authorities would probably try to “pump information out of him” regarding his military service and “try to coerce him into becoming a propaganda tool.”
One of the most strongly defended locations in the world, the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) divides the two Koreas.
It is encircled by electric and barbed wire fencing, security cameras, and landmines. Guards with weapons are expected to be on duty around-the-clock.
