US soldier ‘arrested by North Korea’ after crossing the heavily fortified DMZ border checkpoint, UN says
A US SOLDIER has reportedly been arrested by North Korea after crossing the heavily fortified border.
The unidentified American is said to have ventured across to Kim Jong-un’s dictatorship during a visit to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).
Although information on the man’s alarming arrest is scarce, it is believed he is currently in custody in North Korea.
According to Reuters, local news reports have claimed he is an American soldier.
In a tweet, Korea’s UN command announced the news and said they are working tirelessly with the North’s military to “resolve” the situation.
It read: “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).
“We believe he is currently in DPRK custody and are working with our KPA counterparts to resolve this incident.”
Korean news outlet TV Chosun reported that the UN Command was conducting a general tour of the Joint Security Area, also known as Panmunjeom.
It claimed military sources said the suspect had somehow slipped past armed guards and did not return back to the South.
The two Koreas are split along the world’s most heavily armed border, called the Demilitarized Zone.
An estimated two million mines are peppered inside and near the 248-kilometre-long and four-kilometre-wide DMZ, which is also guarded by barbed wire fences, tank traps and combat troops on both sides.
The area is 160 miles long but only 2.5 miles wide.
Within the neutral zone is a meeting point where negotiations take place between the leaders of the two opposing nations.