SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — An American has crossed the closely fortified border from South Korea into North Korea, the American-led U.N. Command overseeing the realm stated Tuesday.

The U.N. Command tweeted that the U.S. citizen was on a tour to the Korean border village of Panmunjom and crossed the border into the North with out authorization.

It stated he's at present in North Korean custody and that the U.N. Command is working with its North Korean counterparts to resolve the incident.

It gave no additional particulars on who the particular person is or why he crossed the border.

Cases of Americans or South Koreans defecting to North Korea are uncommon, although greater than 30,000 North Koreans have fled to South Korea to keep away from political oppression and financial difficulties for the reason that finish of the 1950-53 Korean War.

Panmunjom, positioned contained in the 248-kilometer (154-mile) -long Demilitarized Zone, was created on the shut of the Korean War. Bloodshed and gunfire have often occurred there, however it has additionally been a venue for quite a few talks and a preferred vacationer spot.

The space is collectively overseen by the U.N. Command and North Korea.

In November 2017, North Korean troopers fired 40 rounds as certainly one of their colleagues raced towards freedom. The soldier was hit 5 instances earlier than he was discovered beneath a pile of leaves on the southern facet of Panmunjom. He survived and is now in South Korea.

No civilians stay at Panmunjom.

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