A look at some Americans who crossed into North Korea over the past years

By KIM TONG-HYUNG
Associated Press

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The U.S.-led United Nations Command is trying to secure the release of an American soldier who fled to North Korea from the South Korean side of a border village. The soldier had been released from a South Korean prison where he was held on assault charges. Instead of getting on a plane to be taken back to Fort Bliss, Texas, he left and joined a tour of the Korean border village of Panmunjom, where he ran across the border. The incident comes at a time of high tensions. There have been cases of Americans crossing into North Korea in the past years, including a small number of U.S. soldiers.