No word from North Korea on US soldier who fled across military border

FILE PHOTO: A media member takes a photograph of South Korean soldiers standing guard in the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas, South Korea, February 7, 2023. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji

SEOUL/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - North Korea remained silent on Thursday about a U.S. soldier who split from a tour group and made a dash across the heavily fortified border two days earlier, landing Washington in a new diplomatic quandary amid an already tense military standoff.

U.S. officials said Pyongyang has not responded to communication from the American military about the soldier, Private Travis T. King. North Korea's state media, which in the past reported on the detention of U.S. nationals, have also not commented on the incident so far.