- A US soldier crossed the border from South Korea into North Korea on Tuesday.
- And he reportedly laughed as he went over the heavily fortified border into the authoritarian country.
A US Army soldier who is believed to have been detained after he crossed into North Korea from South Korea on Tuesday reportedly laughed as he ran over the heavily fortified border into the communist country.
The soldier, identified as a junior enlisted named Travis King, was also in trouble with the US military, according to reports.
US officials told CBS News that the soldier was being flown back to the US from South Korea for disciplinary reasons. The specifics were not immediately clear.
The soldier was escorted to the airport, but did not get on his flight and instead joined in on a civilian border tour before crossing into North Korea, the officials told CBS News.
"This man gives out a loud 'ha ha ha,' and just runs in between some buildings," a witness who was part of the same tour group as the soldier told the news outlet.
Military personnel quickly responded to the man's actions, the witness said.
"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 witness told CBS News.
Two US officials told Reuters that the soldier was due to undergo disciplinary action by the US military before he crossed into North Korea, where he's at risk for being exploited for official propaganda or tortured to get him to spill any secrets he may know.
The Washington Post reported that the soldier was punished for some kind of misconduct while serving in South Korea.
An official also told The Washington Post, "This was a deliberate decision on part of the service member to cross."
A US State Department spokesperson told Insider that the agency was aware of reports from the Department of Defense that a US soldier "willfully and without authorization" had crossed into North Korea.
The spokesperson referred questions about the soldier's identity and status to the Defense Department. The White House and the Pentagon did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the matter by Insider on Tuesday.
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin told reporters during a press briefing on Tuesday, "We believe [the soldier] is in DPRK custody, and so we're closely monitoring and investigating the situation and working to notify the soldier's next of kin and engaging to address this incident."
Austin added that he's "absolutely foremost concerned about the welfare of our troop."
An Army spokesperson told Insider that the soldier, King, joined the Army in January 2021 and is a private who has not deployed during his two years of service.
"During his Korean Force Rotation he was originally assigned to 6th Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division and is currently administratively attached to 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division," the spokesperson said. "His awards include the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Defense Service Medal and Overseas Service Ribbon."
The United Nations Command, which runs the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and Joint Security Area (JSA), confirmed in earlier Tuesday in a tweet that the American was on a JSA orientation tour when he crossed the border without authorization.
"We believe he is currently in DPRK custody and are working with our KPA counterparts to resolve this incident," the UN Command said, in a reference to the official name of North Korea's military: the Korean People's Army.