Seoul, 18 July 2023 (dpa/MIA) - A US citizen has crossed the highly defended border from South to North Korea and has been detained. The local United Nations Command said on Tuesday that the man was now in the custody of the North Korean authorities.

South Korean media reported that he was a soldier from the US army. This has not been confirmed.

According to the UN, the US citizen had been taking part in a tour along the South Korean part of the demilitarized zone that separates the two Korean nations, who are still officially at war since a conflict in the 1950s.

In recent years, several US citizens have entered North Korea illegally.

They have previously been sentenced to several years in prison and only released after long negotiations.

The motive for the crossing on Tuesday is not clear.