North Korea deported a US citizen who was detained last month after he „illegally entered our country through the border between North Korea and China,“ the state-run Korean Central News Agency said Friday.
A spokesman for the US Embassy in Seoul told CNN he was unable to comment on individual cases „for privacy concerns.“ CNN has reached out to the US State Department and the South Korean government for further comment.
In 2017, a man with the same name was deported from South Korea after he was caught wandering near the North Korean border, according to the LA Times. They said he wanted to „help resolve the conflict“ between Washington and Pyongyang.
News of Lowrance’s deportation coincides with KCNA reports Friday that North Korea tested a „newly developed ultramodern“ weapon in an event supervised by leader Kim Jong Un. Denuclearization talks with the United States have stalled since Kim met with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and US President Donald Trump earlier this year.
Very little is known about the weapon or whether it is even new, but the test is the latest sign that Pyongyang is prepared to return to a more militaristic relationship with Washington if negotiations continue to go poorly.
Satellite images released Monday showed over a dozen undeclared North Korean missile operating bases, further suggesting that the country is pursuing its ballistic missile program amid faltering talks.
