![South Korean and US soldier stand guard in the Joint Security Area of the truce village of Panmunjom between South and North Korea inside the Demilitarized Zone, which separates the two Koreas, during a press tour of the village in Paju, South Korea, 4 October 2022. EFE/EPA/YONHAP / POOL SOUTH KOREA OUT[SOUTH KOREA OUT]](https://i0.wp.com/efe.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/rss-efeb9185635dbf55995a9e53e07efee606dc0683e4dw.jpg?fit=1920%2C1280&ssl=1)
Seoul, Jul 18 (EFE).- A US citizen has been detained by North Korean authorities after crossing the border with South Korea, the United Nations said Tuesday.
The UN Command, an international military unit that operates on the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and Joint Security Area (JSA) between North and South Korea, said the US national was currently being held by the North Korean army.
“A US National on a JSA orientation tour crossed, without authorization, the Military Demarcation Line into the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK),” the UN said on Twitter.
“We believe he is currently in DPRK custody and are working with our Korean People’s Army (KPA) counterparts to resolve this incident,” the statement added, without specifying whether the US national was a tourist or a soldier.
The JSA is the only spot along the DMZ where soldiers from both countries stand face to face.
In 2017 a North Korean soldier staged a spectacular escape and became one of the few to cross the JSA into South Korea. The soldier sprinted across the border under close-range gunfire and survived the ordeal despite sustaining several gunshot wounds.
In 1984 a student from the former Soviet Union crossed into South Korea during a tour, prompting an exchange of fire between troops on both sides of the border that resulted in the deaths of three North Korean soldiers, one South Korean and one from the UN Command.EFE
asb/ch/ks
