A U.S. Army soldier who intentionally crossed from South Korea is believed to be in North Korean custody, the Defense Department said Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The service member \u201cwillfully and without authorization\u201d crossed the military demarcation line during a tour, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters at the Pentagon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m absolutely foremost concerned about the welfare of our troop,\u201d Austin added. \u201cWe will remain focused on this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Army identified the soldier as Private 2nd Class Travis T. King, a cavalry scout who enlisted in January 2021. King was visiting the Joint Security Area that separates North and South Korea while on an \u201corientation tour,\u201d Army Col. Isaac Taylor, a spokesman for U.S. forces in South Korea, said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The detention of King, the first American to be held in North Korea in nearly five years, is a diplomatic emergency during an already fraught stretch of relations between Pyongyang and Washington.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nuclear negotiations collapsed in 2019, and North Korea has since escalated its ballistic missile testing, including a launch last week paired with a warning of consequences if the United States continues to operate surveillance flights in the region. On Tuesday, a U.S. nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarine visited South Korea for the first time since the 1980s in a show of unity with its close ally. In an apparent response, North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles into the sea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
King had been punished for misconduct while serving in South Korea and was being sent home to the United States, according to a U.S. official. He had been recently released from a South Korean prison where he was held over assault charges, the Associated Press reported. U.S. officials have not publicly described his misconduct.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He did not get on his scheduled flight after U.S. military personnel took him to the airport, the official said, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the matter\u2019s sensitivity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The United States is trying to determine his whereabouts and condition, the official added. King has not served on any combat deployments, and his three medals listed in his provided service record were perfunctory awards given widely to soldiers who serve in South Korea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Joint Security Area is an 800-meter-wide bubble within the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea where diplomatic discussions can take place. The border area, one of the most fortified in the world, is overseen by the United Nations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the United Nations Command, Korean nationals and foreign tourists are able to visit more than a dozen \u201cEducation and Orientation Program sites\u201d within the demilitarized zone, where visitors can learn about the Korean War and the subsequent armistice agreement. It was not immediately clear whether the detained U.S. national was visiting one of those sites. Public tours to the area were suspended for most of the coronavirus pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n