Seoul Confirms Student Detained in N Korea for Illegal Entry is S Korean

Seoul has confirmed the student, who was detained in North Korea for allegedly trying to enter the country illegally, was a South Korean national, local media reported Sunday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — On Saturday, KCNA, North Korea's state news agency reported that 21-year-old Won Moon Joo, a South Korean resident in the United States, a New York University student, was arrested while illegally entering North Korea after crossing the Amnok River from Dandong, China on April 22.

"A college student detained in North Korea for illegal entry has been confirmed to be South Korean," Yonhap news agency reported, citing a foreign ministry official.

Amnok River, also called the Yalu River, forms the border between North Korea and China and is frequently cruised by North Korean patrol boats.

North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, and South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea, are still formally at war, as no peace treaty was ever signed after the war of 1950-1953.

DPRK-US relations are also deeply strained. The two countries have no diplomatic relations, and the United States maintains a strong military presence in South Korea.