An American citizen has been detained in North Korea after crossing the military demarcation line separating the two Koreas without authorization, according to the United Nations Command. The person was participating in a tour of the Joint Security Area (JSA), the border village in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between South Korea and North Korea where soldiers from both sides stand guard.

The United Nations Command stated on 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)." The UN Command, which has overseen the DMZ since the end of the Korean War, also stated, "We believe he is currently in DPRK custody and are working with our KPA counterparts to resolve this incident." DPRK is an abbreviation for North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The UN Command did not provide any further details about the person's identity or the reason for crossing the border.

There has been no immediate comment from the US Department of State or South Korea's defense ministry. However, the US State Department has a travel advisory in place that prohibits US nationals from entering North Korea due to the risk of arrest and long-term detention. This ban was implemented after the detention of US college student Otto Warmbier in 2015. Warmbier was arrested by North Korean authorities while on a tour of the country and was released in a coma in 2017, shortly before his death.

Instances of US citizens or South Koreans defecting to North Korea are rare. In contrast, more than 30,000 North Koreans have fled to South Korea to escape political oppression and economic difficulties since the Korean War ended. The situation surrounding the detained American citizen in North Korea remains a developing story, and updates are expected.