The American citizen who crossed the border with North Korea is a soldier, says a senior official in Washington. He is currently in detention, according to the UN.
The American national who crossed the border with North Korea during a visit to the demilitarized zone (DMZ) which separates it from South Korea is a soldier of the American armed forces, said Tuesday a senior American official.
The soldier is presumed to be detained in North Korea, the official told AFP, on condition of anonymity.
“We believe that he is currently in detention in the DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) and we are working with our counterparts in the APC (Korean People’s Army) to resolve this incident,” he said. the UN.
A bad joke?
“This man pushed a loud ‘ha ha ha’ and ran between the buildings” after a group visited one of the DMZ buildings, a witness told CBS News of this visit carried out by hundreds of tourists each year. year.
“At first I thought it was a bad joke but when he didn’t come back I realized it wasn’t a joke and then everyone reacted and it was madness,” added this witness of the scene.
US officials told the US channel that the soldier in question was Private Travis King, who was being escorted to the United States from South Korea “for disciplinary reasons”. “After going through airport security checks to leave, he somehow returned and managed to join a group of tourists at the border,” the officials said.
Strong tensions between the two Koreas
The incident comes at a time when relations between the two Koreas are at a standstill, with Kim Jong-un calling for further development of armaments in his country, including tactical nuclear weapons.
South Korea and the United States have increased military cooperation in response to North Korean missile tests and held joint maneuvers with latest-generation fighter jets and strategic forces. These annual exercises are to be repeated next month.
The two countries are to hold the first meeting of a Nuclear Consultative Group in Seoul on Tuesday, intended, according to the North Korean presidency, to “increase nuclear deterrence against North Korea”.
Washington, however, reiterated its offer of negotiations on Sunday, but the influential sister of Kim Jong-un described Monday as a “daydream” the proposal for talks with the Americans on Pyongyang’s nuclear program on the eve of this meeting.
Source: BFM TV
