North Korea was silent about the highly unusual entry of an American soldier across the Koreas' heavily fortified border although it test-fired short-range missiles Wednesday in its latest weapons display.
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00:00 An American soldier who crossed from South Korea into North Korea is believed to be held
00:06 in custody in the North.
00:09 He has been identified as 23-year-old Private Second Class Travis King.
00:12 Before crossing the border, the soldier was being escorted back to America for disciplinary
00:17 reasons.
00:18 He then joined a tour of the UN-run demilitarized zone instead of getting on a plane back to
00:22 the U.S.
00:23 Witnesses say they saw him run across the border into the isolated country.
00:30 It's not known what King intended by crossing into North Korea, or if he may have been trying
00:58 to defect.
01:00 He may be simply trying to avoid charges and now that he's in North Korea has probably
01:05 made his situation a lot worse.
01:08 It is unclear for how long North Korean authorities will hold the soldier, but analysts say the
01:12 incident could be valuable propaganda for the country.
01:17 The last three known American detainees were released in 2018, a year earlier.
01:22 An American student died just days after he was released after 17 months in captivity
01:26 in North Korea.
01:29 Hours after the soldier's detention, North Korea launched two suspected ballistic missiles
01:33 into the nearby sea.
01:35 the U.S.
01:39 (whooshing)