US tourist caught trying to swim into North Korea
A US tourist has been detained in South Korea after apparently trying to swim across a river to get into North Korea.
The man was picked up on the banks of the Han River in a restricted military zone on the South Korean side of the border.
"A male American citizen was arrested last night while attempting to swim across the river to North Korea," a defence ministry spokesman said.
The man told military investigators he planned to go to North Korea to meet leader Kim Jong Un, according to a news report by Yonhap news agency.
The US embassy in Seoul has made contact with South Korean authorities about the incident.
"We do not have any additional information to share at this time but we have been in touch with the appropriate South Korean authorities regarding the reports," said embassy spokeswoman Nida Emmons.
North Korea has three American nationals in detention – Kenneth Bae, Jeffrey Fowle and Matthew Miller.
This week Miller was sentenced to six years’ hard labour for espionage after allegedly ripping up his tourist visa.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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