About the Author
James Fretwell
James Fretwell is an Analyst at NK News.
Death, defection and all for a reasonable price: Panmunjom tours have been the subject of scrutiny since American soldier Travis King crossed into North Korea, but history shows that his daring dash into the DPRK was far from the first incident during a visit to the sensitive border area.
Visitors have been joining tours to the Joint Security Area (JSA) since just after the Korean War, and the number of people to go from each side has even been a point of pride in inter-Korean ideological competition.