The surreal Korean border village where a US soldier crossed into the North

By FOSTER KLUG
Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — Blue-roofed huts, a raised slab of concrete and some raked gravel are all that separate the rival Koreas at Panmunjom, a rare point of close contact along the most heavily armed border in the world. You can step across that thin slab of dividing concrete, but only under very special circumstances. Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un did it. South Korean President Moon Jae-in did it, walking hand-in-hand with Kim. A defecting North Korean soldier stumbled across nearby, under heavy gunfire, in a mad dash for sanctuary in 2017. And this week an American soldier facing possible military discipline crossed over, causing an international incident that could worsen already uneasy relations on the Korean Peninsula.