The North Korea crisis

File photo from the demilitarized zone. Dita Alangkara / AP  

The North Korea crisis  

Witness: He laughed - I thought it was a joke  

The United States has contacted Sweden in the hope of reaching a solution in the case where an American soldier is believed to have been detained in North Korea after he crossed the border from South Korea, writes The Hill.  

Unlike many other European countries, Sweden has an embassy in North Korea, and acts as a protectorate for the United States, writes TT. 

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says the American crossed the border of his own free will. The off-duty soldier reportedly crossed the border during a tour, and a witness told CBS News that he suddenly started laughing and then ran across the border. 

- I thought it was a bad joke, but when he didn't come back I understood that it wasn't a joke.  

Illustration image. Ahn Young-joon / AP 

North Korea has fired a robot into the Sea of Japan 

North Korea has fired a ballistic robot that landed in the Sea of Japan, according to the South Korean news agency Yonhap, according to several media. According to the coast guard in Japan, a second robot should also have been fired.  

AFP writes that it occurs in a very tense situation between North and South Korea, and barely a week after a ballistic robot was fired from North Korea at the same area.