Tourist Who Saw US Soldier Sprint to North Korea Initially Thought It Was a Stunt

A group of tourists stand near a border station at Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone in Paju, South Korea, on July 18, 2023. Sarah Jane Leslie/AP Photo

WELLINGTON, New Zealand—Sarah Leslie thought she was witnessing a stunt when she saw an American soldier start sprinting toward North Korea.

Leslie and her father, tourists from New Zealand, were part of a group that left Tuesday morning from Seoul to visit the Demilitarized Zone that divides South and North Korea.