Pentagon releases more details about soldier crossing border into North Korea: “Just before his flight to US, he disappeared from airport” | North Korea

The soldier was on his way home after being held in a South Korean detention center for some time after completing his mission. He faces “additional administrative action” in his home country, Singh said, without elaborating. She also did not say why Raja is in detention. South Korean news agency Yonhap on Wednesday refused to pay a fine after vandalizing a police car in Seoul, citing judicial sources.

According to Singh, King was not detained on the way to the airport but escorted by security. “I don’t think anyone expected him to leave the airport,” she continued. King later reportedly joined a business tour along the border, but became separated from the group and crossed the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas. “We don’t know what he did the moment he left the airport and crossed the border,” Singh said.

The US has yet to hear from the North Korean regime that is holding the young man. He is feared to face prolonged detention and ill-treatment in North Korea.

The case is reminiscent of that of American student Otto Warmbier, who was sentenced in North Korea in December 2015 for allegedly stealing a propaganda poster. Warmbier died in June 2017 aged 22 after being flown back to the US in a coma after a year and a half in prison.

read more: A US soldier detained in North Korea crossed the border “laughing out loud” as he struggled with family drama