International troops stationed on the South Korean side of the truce village of Panmunjom on the border with North Korea who had been unarmed can resume carrying guns, the United Nations Command (UNC) said on Tuesday. The U.S.-led UNC is a multinational military force and oversees affairs in the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between the two Koreas, which remain technically at war. Panmunjom, which has been a popular tourist destination, is known formally as the Joint Security Area (JSA) - a cluster of buildings that has hosted inter-Korean talks and where troops from both sides stand almost face to face.
A US soldier who served around two months in a South Korean jail on assault charges was believed to be in North Korean custody Wednesday after crossing the heavily fortified border without authorisation, officials said."King was released on July 10 after serving around two months in a South Korean prison for assault charges," a Seoul official told AFP.
South Korean police told AFP that King had been investigated for assault in September 2022, but was not detained at the time.
A United States national entered North Korea during a tour of the heavily fortified border and is believed to have been detained, the United Nations Command said Tuesday.Soldiers from both sides face off at the JSA north of Seoul, which is overseen by the United Nations Command.