North Korea has deported the U.S. soldier who ran across the border from South Korea during a tour of the Panmunjom joint-security zone after it completed an investigation into his "illegal" entry.
On July 18, Private 2nd Class Travis King, 23, a reconnaissance specialist who had been in the U.S. army since January 2021, crossed the Military Demarcation Line dividing North and South Korea. He had been in South Korea as part of his rotation and had been due to be sent home to be disciplined after spending two months in detention in South Korea on assault charges.
North Korean state news agency KCNA reported on Wednesday that an investigation into King's unauthorized crossing from South Korea had been completed.
It said that the investigation found that King had "confessed that he illegally intruded" into North Korea because "he harbored ill feeling against inhuman maltreatment and racial discrimination within the U.S. army and was disillusioned about the unequal U.S. society."
The agency said that Pyongyang "decided to expel Travis King, a soldier of the U.S. Army who illegally intruded into the territory of the DPRK, under the law of the Republic."
The report did not describe what condition the U.S. soldier was in or give details about how he would be expelled. Newsweek has emailed the Pentagon for comment.
When contacted for comment by Newsweek, Jonathan Franks, spokesperson for King's mother, Claudine Gates said: "Ms. Gates will be forever grateful to the United States Army and all its interagency partners for a job well done."
"For the foreseeable future, the family asks for privacy, and Ms. Gates does not intend to give any interviews," the statement added.
King had served as a cavalry scout in the regular army for the last two and a half years and had received awards such as the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Defense Service Medal and the Overseas Service Ribbon.
However, he had also been in trouble with the Army after failing to report for an accountability formation on September 4, 2022, as well as refusing to return to post that month, according to The Messenger. King was later found at Camp Bonifas, south of the demilitarized zone.
He was arrested after assaulting a Korean national in Dongducheon City and placed in pre-trial confinement from October 8, 2022 to February 24, 2023.
He was then released to his unit in Camp Humphreys before being transferred to the Cheonan Correctional Facility. He did not take a flight back to the U.S. as he was supposed to on July 17.
King's sister Jaqueda Gates told NBC News that his bolt to North Korea was unexpected and seemed to be out of character and she called on the U.S. government to do more to secure his release.
A number of American citizens held in North Korea have been released in recent years. In 2014, California teacher Matthew Miller was set free along with Kenneth Bae, who had been sentenced to 15 years hard labor.
Journalists, including Laura Ling and Euna Lee, were also detained by North Korea before being released.
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Brendan Cole is a Newsweek Senior News Reporter based in London, UK. His focus is Russia and Ukraine, in particular ... Read more
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