Each and every time I hear about a "hiker" who strayed across the border of North Korea or Iran, I think to myself - CIA.
It simply defies credibility to accept the 'story' that Third World States and Hostile Rogue Dictatorships are oblivious to the whereabouts and activities of foreign tourists inside their borders, especially when these borders are located on the most violent and volatile areas in the world mentioned in the media news every day.
Not to mention the fact that it's simply not possible that an "American tourist" with the time, money, and resources to fly to North Korea or the Iraq/Iran border could be so naive and stupid as to not know the imminent dangers of attempting such an action.
This happens rather frequently these days.
CIA sends trained young agents to "hike" into hot spots and get arrested. While "inside" captivity they are able to hear and talk and learn a great deal about the mental states and conditions of their captors inside the country...then some Commie Rat like Jimmy Carter or Clinton shows up in person, cuts a deal with the dicktakers to supply them with nuclear technology or weapons in exchange for the American 'hiker', and they both fly back home to Washington for official "debriefing".
Bonus: The Commie Rats Carter and Clinton get to use the publicity to further their own political ends and power games, and the Dicktakers think it hilarious how stupid the Americans really are - so stupid that they will give away the store just to get back a spy disguised as an activist student. They know full well what the hell is going on the whole time, and they are most correct when they arrest these fools and charge them with being "American Spies".