American Soldier Suspected of Being Captured in North Korea following DMZ Crossing

July 18 (UPI) — The Pentagon has announced that a U.S. soldier is believed to have been detained in North Korea after crossing the military demarcation line from South Korea without authorization on Tuesday.

According to defense officials, the soldier was on a private tour of the Joint Security Area in the Demilitarized Zone when he suddenly ran across the border.

“We believe that he is in DPRK custody,” said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin during a news conference, referring to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the formal name of North Korea. “We are closely monitoring and investigating the situation, and working to notify the soldier’s next of kin and engaging to address this incident.”

The soldier’s name has not been released by the Defense Department. CBS News and ABC News, citing unnamed U.S. officials, identified the soldier as Pvt. 2nd Class Travis King.

Defense officials mentioned that the soldier had previously served time in military detention in South Korea after an altercation with locals and was being sent out of the country. However, he managed to return after going through security at Incheon National Airport and join a border tour group.

The incident occurred in Panmunjeom, a village just north of the de facto border between North and South Korea. The United Nations Command, which oversees the Demilitarized Zone, tweeted that they are “working with our KPA counterparts to resolve this incident,” referring to the North Korean People’s Army.

Witnesses reported seeing the soldier suddenly break stride and run across the military demarcation line during the tour. “To our right, we hear a loud HA-HA-HA and one guy from OUR GROUP that has been with us all day — runs in between two of the buildings and over to the other side!!” wrote Mikaela Johansson, a Swedish national on the tour, on Facebook. “It took everybody a second to react and grasp what had actually happened, then we were ordered into and through Freedom House and running back to our military bus.”

It is unclear what level of security was in place on the north side of the border, as both sides have historically heavily patrolled the area. North Korea had significantly scaled back routine patrols in the Joint Security Area during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This incident comes at a time when Pyongyang is expected to respond strongly to the first U.S. nuclear-capable ballistic missile submarine visit to South Korea in decades and the inaugural session of the allies’ Nuclear Consultative Group in Seoul this week. Some observers speculate that this incident could lead to direct engagement between Washington and Pyongyang on the release of the U.S. soldier and other bilateral issues.

Yonhap contributed to this report.