Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


US Citizen in North Korean Custody After Crossing North at Border Town

by Eunice Kim

   SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA --

   A U.S. national is believed to be in North Korean custody after
   illegally crossing the border dividing the two Koreas at the Joint
   Security Area, or JSA, on Tuesday.

   The United Nations Command, a multinational military force stationed at
   the border village to maintain the pause to the Korean War, said it is
   working with North Korea's military to "resolve the incident,"
   confirming that the man was on a JSA orientation tour.

   The man in question suddenly crossed north of the military demarcation
   line, the official border, at around 3:27 p.m. local time on Tuesday
   afternoon, according to South Korean daily The Chosun Ilbo, citing
   unnamed sources.

   No fire appeared to have been exchanged at the high-tension border
   town, where soldiers from the two Koreas stand guard around the clock,
   facing each other.

   According to reliable sources in the South Korean military, the
   American who crossed the border is a U.S. soldier, a private, stationed
   with United States Forces Korea.

   The incident occurred as South Korea's military remains on high alert
   for possible provocations from North Korea after a U.S. nuclear
   ballistic missile submarine arrived in port in the southern city of
   Busan on the same day.

   Arrival of the USS Kentucky, capable of launching Trident II ballistic
   missiles with a range of 12,000 kilometers, is a highly symbolic move
   that Washington will stand with South Korea in the event of a North
   Korean nuclear attack.

   It is the first visit of a U.S. nuclear submarine in decades, said the
   White House Indo-Pacific coordinator, Kurt Campbell, during a press
   conference in Seoul Tuesday.

   Campbell is leading a 30-person delegation to officially launch the
   Nuclear Consultative Group, or NCG, with Seoul. South Korea says the
   initiative will strengthen their alliance to one that is nuclear based.
   It is the realization of a commitment made by U.S. President Joe Biden
   and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in April, as outlined in the
   Washington Declaration.

   A joint statement following the inaugural meeting of the NCG noted that
   any North Korean nuclear attack against the United States or its allies
   would "result in the end of that regime," and that a nuclear attack
   against South Korea would "be met with a swift, overwhelming and
   decisive response."

   VOA's Korean service contributed to this report.