A male US national crossed the border between North and South Korea while on a tour of Panmunjom Tuesday (July 18).
According to a tweet by the American-led United Nations Command (UNC), the American man crossed the border into the North without authorization. They added he is currently in North Korean custody and that the UN Command is working with its North Korean counterparts to resolve the incident.
As of this report, there were no details on the identity of the man and his motive for crossing.
Panmunjom and Defections
Cases of Americans and South Koreans defecting to North Korea are rare. Meanwhile, more than 30,000 North Koreans have fled to the South to avoid political oppression and economic difficulties since the Korean War, the Associated Press reported.
Most of the border crossings happen in or around the vicinity of Panmunjom, which is considered the most heavily-fortified border crossing in the world.
The village of Panmunjom was created by both Koreas at the close of the war. It was situated within the 248-kilometer-long (154-mile-long) Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and became the default meeting place for diplomats and top commanders of both Koreas and the UN security contingent for prisoner and cadaver exchanges, as well as several recent inter-Korea summits between the leaders of both nations.
As a result, no civilians live in Panmunjom, which is jointly overseen by the UN Command and North Korea.
This is a developing story. Please follow HNGN for more updates.
Related Article: US, Japan, South Korea Condemn North Korea's Recent Missile Launch, Say Pyongyang Performs 'Grave Threat'
