A U.S. soldier was detained in North Korea on Tuesday and, according to witnesses, laughed as he broke away from a civilian tour group and crossed the border into North Korea, CBS News reported, citing a witness on the tour.
Private 2nd Class Travis King, identified by the outlet, was reportedly at the airport to fly home to the United States after disciplianry actions on his base in South Korea.
King had passed airport security when he escaped his escort and joined a group to visit the border, CBS News reported, citing U.S. officials.
A person on the tour witnessed the man’s crossing while moving through the Joint Security Area (JSA) of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) said the man suddenly laughed and darted out of sight between buildings.
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“This man gives out a loud ‘ha ha ha,’ and just runs in between some buildings,” the witness told the outlet.
“I thought it was a bad joke at first, but when he didn’t come back, I realized it wasn’t a joke, and then everybody reacted, and things got crazy,” the witness told CBS News.
Military personnel reacted quickly to the situation, the witness added, according to CBS News. The remaining group members returned to the JSA’s Freedom House, where their witness statements were collected.
The group then returned to their bus, CBS News reported.
“I’m telling you this because it actually hit me quite hard,” the witness told the outlet. “It was on the way back in the bus, and we got to one of the checkpoints … . Someone said we were 43 going in and 42 coming back.”
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Local media said the man crossed the Military Demarcation Line at Panmunjom into North Korea at 3:27 p.m. local time, or 2:27 a.m. Eastern, according to CBS.
“A U.S. Service member on a JSA orientation tour willfully and without authorization crossed the Military Demarcation Line into the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK),” Col. Isaac Taylor, a spokesperson for U.S. Forces Korea, said in a statement. “We believe he is currently in DPRK custody and are working with our [Korean People’s Army] counterparts to resolve this incident.”
U.S. officials previously said the man “willfully” crossed into North Korea and was taken into custody, according to CBS.
He was not in uniform at the time of the crossing and had participated in the tour as a civilian, a U.S. defense official told CNN.
“This was a deliberate decision on the part of the service member to cross,” one U.S. official told The Washington Post.
According to NBC News, private companies organize tours to the DMZ, located roughly 30 miles north of the South Korean capital of Seoul. The U.N. also hosts tours for its staff.
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