US service member intentionally entered North Korea, Pentagon believes they are detained.
An American Service Member Crosses Border into North Korea
An American service member has made headlines after willfully crossing the border between South and North Korea and is now in the custody of the North Korean authorities, according to U.S. military officials.
The soldier, who was assigned to U.S. Forces Korea, embarked on a Joint Security Area tour and entered North Korea without authorization on Tuesday. While the Pentagon has not yet released the soldier’s name, it is waiting to notify the next of kin. However, sources have identified the individual as 23-year-old Pvt. Travis King.
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“There’s a lot that we’re still trying to learn, but what we do know is that one of our service members who was on a tour willfully, and without authorization, crossed the military demarcation line. We believe that he is in DPRK custody,” Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin informed reporters. “And so we’re closely monitoring and investigating the situation and working to notify the soldier’s next of kin and engaging to address this incident.”
“The U.S. is working with the North Korean military to resolve this issue,” stated Col. Isaac Taylor, a spokesman for U.S. Forces Korea.
According to ABC News, King had been released from a South Korean detention facility after spending approximately two months there following an altercation with locals. He then spent about a week under observation at a U.S. base before completing the outprocessing procedures on Monday. He was scheduled to fly back to the United States, but he did not board the flight.
Since King had served his time and there was no indication that he wouldn’t board the flight, there was no escort to witness his absence from the plane.
The Joint Security Area, part of the wider Demilitarized Zone between South and North Korea, offers tours to the public organized by the United Nations Command. In a statement, the command confirmed that “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).”
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