The United States military is scrambling to determine the fate of an American soldier who made an unauthorised crossing of the inter-Korean border into North Korea, throwing Washington into a new crisis in its dealing with the nuclear-armed state.
The US army identified the soldier as Private Travis T King, who joined in 2021 and was facing disciplinary action.
While on an orientation tour of the Joint Security Area (JSA) on the border between the two Koreas, Private King crossed into North Korea on Tuesday “wilfully and without authorisation”, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said.
“We believe that he is in (North Korean) custody and so we’re closely monitoring and investigating the situation and working to notify the soldier’s next of kin,” Mr Austin told a briefing.
North Korea’s state media has made no mention of the incident.
Its mission to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The crossing comes at a time of renewed tension on the Korean peninsula, with the arrival on Tuesday of a US nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarine, and the test launch early on Wednesday of two ballistic missiles into the sea by North Korea.
The short-range missiles were fired from an area near its capital, Pyongyang, flying 550 kilometres and 600 kilometres before plunging into the sea off its east coast, South Korea’s military said.
North Korea has been testing increasingly powerful missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads, including a new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile last week.
The UN Command (UNC), which oversees security for the border area, had communicated over a hotline with the North Koreans about the US soldier, a spokesperson for US Forces Korea said.
The US military was “working with our KPA counterparts to resolve this incident”, Colonel Isaac Taylor said, referring to North Korea’s People’s Army.
“We communicate with the North Koreans every single day,” he said.
“It’s all part of the armistice agreement.”
The soldier was on a tour of the Panmunjom truce village when he crossed the Military Demarcation Line that has separated the two Koreas since the Korean War ended in 1953 with an armistice, US officials said.
His motive is not known.
While based in South Korea, he faced accusations of assault and damaging a police car in an October incident.
He pled guilty and was sentenced in February to a fine, a court document seen by Reuters showed.
Private King had finished serving in military detention and was transported by the US military to the airport to return to his home unit in the United States, two US officials said.
He had passed alone through security to his gate and then fled, one official said.
Civilian tours of the demilitarised zone (DMZ) are advertised at the airport and Private King appeared to have decided to join one, an official said.
It was not clear if that was related to the October incident.
South Korea’s Unification Ministry, which handles ties with the North, said all tours to Panmunjom had been cancelled indefinitely at the UN Command’s request.
-Reuters
