A U.S. national crossed into North Korea and is believed to be in the custody of the country’s forces, the United Nations Command, which operates the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea, said Tuesday.
“A U.S. National on a JSA orientation tour crossed, without authorization, the Military Demarcation Line into the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). We believe he is currently in DPRK custody and are working with our KPA counterparts to resolve this incident.”
Local media said a foreign tourist who was visiting the Military Demarcation Line crossed over at 3:27 p.m. local time (7:27 a.m. Eastern).
A person who said they witnessed the event and was part of the same tour group told CBS News they had just visited one of the buildings at the site when “this man gives out a loud ‘ha ha ha,’ and just runs in between some buildings.”
The witness said the event organizers and others on the tour didn’t immediately react to the man’s actions.
“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 demilitarized zone that separates North and South Korea is one of the most heavily militarized borders in the world.
Emmet Lyons contributed to this report.
This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.
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