WASHINGTON, July 18./TASS/. A US soldier crossed the inter-Korean border into North Korea illegally in an attempt to escape disciplinary action in the United States, Reuters reported on Tuesday.

According to its sources among US officials, the US national crossed the Military Demarcation Line "willfully and without authorization." The soldier had been due to face disciplinary action by the US military, the sources said. It was not immediately clear what the reason for the disciplinary action was.

CBS said that the man was identified as army private Travis King. He was taking part in a tour to the Joint Security Area on the border between South Korea and North Korea. Earlier, the United Nations Command in the Republic of Korea said that the US national was detained in North Korea after crossing the demarcation line.

Surmising that the US national was detained by the North Korean side, the UN Command reported that it was "working with our KPA [Korean People’s Army, North Korea’s military force - TASS] counterparts to resolve this incident."