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Paju: The US military has been scrambling to determine the fate of an American soldier who made an unauthorized crossing of the inter-Korean border into north koreaThrow Washington In a new crisis in dealing with nuclear armed country.
The US Army has identified the soldier as Private Travis T. King who joined in 2021 and was facing disciplinary action. while on a guided tour common security area US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said that King crossed the inter-Korean border into North Korea on Tuesday “intentionally and without permission.”
“We believe he is being held (in North Korea), so we are monitoring the situation closely, investigating it and working to notify the next of kin of the soldier,” Austin told a news briefing.
North Korean state media did not mention 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 of a nuclear-armed US ballistic missile submarine, and the test firing of two ballistic missiles at sea by North Korea early Wednesday morning.
North Korea has been testing increasingly powerful missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads, including a new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile last week.
Col. Isaac Taylor, a spokesman for US Forces Korea, said the military is “working with our counterparts in the Korean People’s Army to resolve this incident,” referring to the North Korean People’s Army.
Taylor said the UN Command, which oversees security in the border area, used hotlines to communicate with the North Koreans about the incident, but he gave no details.
“We communicate with the North Koreans every day,” he said. It’s all part of the Armistice Agreement.”
North Korea launches missiles
US officials said the soldier was on a tour of the truce village in Panmunjom with other visitors when he crossed the Military Demarcation Line. The heavily defended border has separated the two Koreas since the Korean War ended in 1953 with an armistice.
American officials puzzled over why the soldier fled north and described a bewildering chain of events.
Two U.S. officials said King finished serving time in South Korea for an unspecified offense and was transferred by the U.S. military to the airport to return to his home unit in the United States.
One of the officials said he had already gone through security alone to his gate, then decided to flee. Civilian tours of the DMZ are advertised at the airport, an official said, and King appears to have decided to join one.
The two US officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the soldier was scheduled to face disciplinary action by the US military. One said he was not in detention when he decided to flee.
South Korea’s Unification Ministry, which handles relations with North Korea, said all tours to Panmunjom were canceled indefinitely at the request of the UN command. But Imjingak in Bago, the end of the road before the army-held bridge leading to the Demilitarized Zone, was teeming with tourists.
It was not clear how long the North Korean authorities would hold the soldier, but analysts said the incident could be valuable propaganda for the isolated country.
Before dawn on Wednesday, North Korea fired two ballistic missiles from an area near its capital, Pyongyang, which flew 550 km and 600 km before falling into the sea off its east coast.
The launch came hours after South Korea and the United States held their first round of talks on Tuesday on raising the level of coordination in the event of a nuclear war with North Korea.
The United States has pledged to deploy more strategic assets such as aircraft carriers, submarines and long-range bombers to South Korea, prompting an angry response from Pyongyang, which has vowed to step up its military response.
A former North Korean diplomat who defected to the South said the king could be a propaganda tool for North Korea and a loss of face for the United States on the day the submarine arrived and the nuclear talks.
Said Tae Yong-ho, a member of South Korea’s military parliament.
The US Army has identified the soldier as Private Travis T. King who joined in 2021 and was facing disciplinary action. while on a guided tour common security area US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said that King crossed the inter-Korean border into North Korea on Tuesday “intentionally and without permission.”
“We believe he is being held (in North Korea), so we are monitoring the situation closely, investigating it and working to notify the next of kin of the soldier,” Austin told a news briefing.
North Korean state media did not mention 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 of a nuclear-armed US ballistic missile submarine, and the test firing of two ballistic missiles at sea by North Korea early Wednesday morning.
North Korea has been testing increasingly powerful missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads, including a new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile last week.
Col. Isaac Taylor, a spokesman for US Forces Korea, said the military is “working with our counterparts in the Korean People’s Army to resolve this incident,” referring to the North Korean People’s Army.
Taylor said the UN Command, which oversees security in the border area, used hotlines to communicate with the North Koreans about the incident, but he gave no details.
“We communicate with the North Koreans every day,” he said. It’s all part of the Armistice Agreement.”
North Korea launches missiles
US officials said the soldier was on a tour of the truce village in Panmunjom with other visitors when he crossed the Military Demarcation Line. The heavily defended border has separated the two Koreas since the Korean War ended in 1953 with an armistice.
American officials puzzled over why the soldier fled north and described a bewildering chain of events.
Two U.S. officials said King finished serving time in South Korea for an unspecified offense and was transferred by the U.S. military to the airport to return to his home unit in the United States.
One of the officials said he had already gone through security alone to his gate, then decided to flee. Civilian tours of the DMZ are advertised at the airport, an official said, and King appears to have decided to join one.
The two US officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the soldier was scheduled to face disciplinary action by the US military. One said he was not in detention when he decided to flee.
South Korea’s Unification Ministry, which handles relations with North Korea, said all tours to Panmunjom were canceled indefinitely at the request of the UN command. But Imjingak in Bago, the end of the road before the army-held bridge leading to the Demilitarized Zone, was teeming with tourists.
It was not clear how long the North Korean authorities would hold the soldier, but analysts said the incident could be valuable propaganda for the isolated country.
Before dawn on Wednesday, North Korea fired two ballistic missiles from an area near its capital, Pyongyang, which flew 550 km and 600 km before falling into the sea off its east coast.
The launch came hours after South Korea and the United States held their first round of talks on Tuesday on raising the level of coordination in the event of a nuclear war with North Korea.
The United States has pledged to deploy more strategic assets such as aircraft carriers, submarines and long-range bombers to South Korea, prompting an angry response from Pyongyang, which has vowed to step up its military response.
A former North Korean diplomat who defected to the South said the king could be a propaganda tool for North Korea and a loss of face for the United States on the day the submarine arrived and the nuclear talks.
Said Tae Yong-ho, a member of South Korea’s military parliament.
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