Fate of U.S. soldier unknown as talks begin between North Korea, UN

Communication has opened up between North Korea and the United Nations over a U.S. soldier that fled into the rogue state last week.

Communication has opened up between North Korea and the United Nations over a U.S. soldier who last week ran across the fortified zone separating the rogue North from South Korea.

At a press conference in South Korea on Monday, deputy commander for the UN Command, Lt. Gen. Andrew Harrison, said that a process and investigation has begun.

“There is a mechanism that exists under the armistice agreement whereby lines of communication are open between the United Nations Command and the KPA (Korean People’s Army),” he said, referring to the Korean Armistice Agreement that ended the Korean War in 1953.  “That takes place in the Joint Security Area (JSA).”

Pvt. Travis King was participating in a tour of the joint security area, an area within the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that is used for diplomatic engagements, when he “willfully” crossed into North Korea, according to the U.S. Armed Forces in South Korea.

Tours of the JSA, which has become a popular tourist site, are now suspended, Harrison said.

News of the crossing, which was not authorized by the U.S., came on July 18. King had been on a tour of the border village Panmunjom when he was supposed to be heading to Fort Bliss, Texas, following his release from prison in South Korea on an assault conviction, the Associated Press reported.

Harrison didn’t give specifics on the state of King or how receptive North Korea has been to talks given the sensitive nature of the discussions.

“‘Obviously there is someone’s welfare at stake and clearly we’re in a very difficult and complex situation which I don’t want to risk by speculation or going into too much detail about the communications that have existed,” he said.