North Korea has reportedly detained a serving American soldier who crossed a heavily guarded North Korean border from South Korea without getting any permission. The arrested man was on an organized tour of the UN-run zone, which divides the two nations. The crisis comes during a tense time with North Korea, which is an isolated state. The US government forbids its citizens from going there. An American commander says there had been no contact with the soldier. Commander of US Indo-Pacific Command Admiral Aquilino said he was not tracking contact with North Korea. He added the detained soldier acted willingly on his own behalf without any authorization, and US Forces in Korea have been investigating the incident.
A few hours after the soldier’s arrest, North Korea fired two suspected ballistic missiles into the neighboring sea. The South Korean military confirmed the missile launch, raising the tension in the region. But there is no authentication yet whether the missile launch presents the incident of soldier’s detention or something else. It is also still unclear if the man has defected to North Korea or expects to return, but there is still nothing from the North side. The Pentagon has investigated and identified the soldier as Private Second Class (PV2) Travis King.
In a statement, a Pentagon spokesperson said that PV2 King has served in the US Army since January 2021. He is a cavalry scout and a military surveillance specialist. He was initially appointed to an element of the army’s 1st Armored Division on an exercise with the American military in South Korea.
Source: Web
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The Associated Press expressed that PV2 King faced disciplinary actions after being held in South Korea. According to a news agency, the soldier passed through Seoul airport security but somehow made his way to leave the terminal and reached the border side, where he crossed it to the North side. American military expressed that the soldier’s crossing the border was willful and unauthorized action.
Furthermore, a person who was on the same tour reported that they had visited a building located at the border site, which local media has identified as the truce village of Panmunjom. During the visit, they witnessed a man suddenly shout “ha ha ha” before running in between some buildings. Initially, they thought it was a joke, but when the man didn’t return, they realized it was serious. This caused a tense situation in that region.
The United Nations Command operates in the Demilitarized Zone and Joint Security Area region. They expressed recently that their officials had contacted the North Korean Government for negotiations to release the soldier. According to the statement, he is believed to be in the custody of the DPRK, and efforts are being made in collaboration with the KPA (Korean People’s Army) to resolve the situation. There is also no information about the conditions or the place where the PV2 soldier is being held.
Greg Scarlatoiu, executive director of the Washington DC-based Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, expressed that the North Korean authorities have been pressing the soldier to supply information about US military service and aim to use him as a propaganda tool. The Demilitarized Zone separates the two North and South Korean nations, and it is one of the world’s most heavily guarded areas in the world.
