During a tour of the demilitarized zone in South Korea, a US soldier intentionally and without permission crossed the border to the north. He is said to have been arrested there.
A US soldier crossed the inner-Korean border from South to North Korea without permission and is believed to have been arrested as a result. He took part in a tour of the South Korean part of the demilitarized zone and “deliberately” crossed the border with North Korea, the US forces in Korea said.
It is believed that the man is now in custody in North Korea and work is being done to clarify the incident. The United Nations command center in the region had previously reported the border crossing and the suspected arrest.
The so-called demilitarized zone separates the two Korean states. In recent years, Americans have entered North Korea illegally several times. There they were usually sentenced to several years in prison and only released after lengthy negotiations.
Americans are discouraged from traveling to North Korea
The US State Department is advising Americans not to travel to North Korea. It points out on its website that US passports are not valid for travel to and through North Korea and that special permits are only granted in absolutely exceptional cases. There is a risk of arrest and long, unlawful detention. The government is unable to provide assistance to US citizens in North Korea because it has no diplomatic or consular ties with the internationally largely isolated country.
The case of the US student Otto Warmbier caused a stir. He was arrested in 2016 after a group tour in North Korea and sentenced to 15 years in a labor camp for “hostile acts against the state”. He died a few days after his return to the United States in June 2017 – he had been in a coma for 15 months at the time.
Over the past few decades, Americans have repeatedly crossed the border into North Korea without permission. In March 2009, for example, journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee were arrested for illegally crossing the border and sentenced to twelve years in a labor camp. The two were only released several months later after mediation by former US President Bill Clinton. A US missionary also dared to convert, was arrested and released after six weeks.
Arrested US citizens as leverage
North Korea has repeatedly used arrested US citizens as leverage to persuade the government in Washington to make concessions. The Swedish embassy always represents the diplomatic interests of the United States in negotiations about repatriations, since Washington has no official representation in the country.
However, direct crossing of the inner-Korean border is extremely rare. The two states are separated from each other by a heavily mined border guarded by the military. From the South Korean side, however, it is possible to take part in tourist tours through the so-called demilitarized zone.
Among other things, these lead through the settlement of Panmunjeom, in whose military barracks with the iconic blue roofs the armistice concluded in 1953 during the Korean War was negotiated. The participants of the tours are led there to within a few meters of the border with North Korea.
Panmunjeom gained worldwide fame in 2019 when then US President Donald Trump met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for a handshake there. Trump also set foot on North Korean soil that day.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
