North Korea confirms custody of US soldier Travis King who crossed border without authorisation

North Korea has confirmed that it has US soldier Travis King in custody after weeks of silence on the 23-year-old's whereabouts, the UN Command has said.

Mr King bolted across the heavily armed North Korea border back in July while on a civilian tour of the village of Panmunjom.

He is the first known American held in North Korea in nearly five years.

The UN Command said it couldn't give further details about Pyongyang's response as it "did not want to interfere with efforts to bring him home."

The UN command polices the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) between North Korea and South Korea.

Officials have been seeking information on Private 2nd Class King using a direct phone line to the North Korean Army.

"KPA has responded to the United Nations Command with regards to PV2 King. In order not to interfere with our efforts to get him home, we will not go into details at this time," a statement said.

Mr King was supposed to be on his way to Fort Bliss, Texas, after finishing a prison sentence in South Korea.

According to a US official, Mr King - who chose to serve his time at a labour camp rather than pay the nearly $4,000 (£3,145) fine - has been declared absent without leave (AWOL).

Sabrina Singh, a Pentagon spokeswoman, told reporters in July that the soldier was not escorted all the way to the gate because he was not in custody and there was no anticipation that he would not get on the plane to go home.

Military personnel escorted him to the passport control area and were not allowed to go farther than that.

Singh said he confirmed to the US military that he was near the gate. Mr King knew he was returning to Texas to face likely discharge.

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