Graduate of Tenafly High, Now NYU student, busted for trying to sneak into North Korea

Tenafly Graduate Crossess Border into North Korea

Won Moon Joo, 21, of Tenafly was arrested April 22 on charges of illegally entering North Korea by crossing the Yalu River from Dandong, China, the Korean Central News Agency said. He  is “under investigation by a competent institution” of the North Korean government, the KCNA report said.

The college student who graduated from Tenafly High School detained in North Korea sought to be arrested and hoped his arrest would lead to better relations between North Korea and South Korea, he said in an interview that aired Tuesday on CNN.

Records show that Won Moon Joo graduated from Tenafly HS in 2011, where he was a track star and won an award for his performance in math competitions. Joo is a junior at NYU’s Stern School of Business, said university spokesman John Beckman. “He is not taking classes this semester, and the university was unaware of his travels,” Beckman said.

This article contains material from NORTHJERSEY.COM and from NYPOST.COM.