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 unidentified U.S. soldier who entered North Korea from the South Korean side of a border village. It isn’t clear what motivated the soldier to cross into North Korea during 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. Some of the Americans who crossed were driven by evangelical zeal or simply attracted by the mystery of a severely cloistered police state fueled by anti-U.S. hatred. Other Americans were detained after entering North Korea as tourists. In one tragic case, it ended in death.