US soldier crosses border into N. Korea due to mistreatment within US Army: N. Korea

Aju News DB

SEOUL -- North Korea has confirmed that a United States soldier identified as Army Private 2nd Class Travis T. King is currently in its territory. According to Pyongyang's state news agency's report, King crossed the border into the North because of mistreatment and racism within the U.S. Army.
 
The 23-year-old private stationed in South Korea was a cavalry scout who enlisted in January 2021. The American soldier ran across the border on July 18 when he was visiting the truce village of Panmunjom on an orientation tour. Although his tour guides chased after the soldier, they were unable to stop him. The U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin earlier announced that King "willfully and without authorization" crossed the border into North Korean territory.
 
The Korea Central News Agency (KCNA)'s report on July 18 showed that King admitted that the U.S. soldier "expressed his willingness to seek refuge" in North Korea or a third country. The news agency said: "During the investigation, Travis King confessed that he had decided to come over to the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) as he harbored ill feeling against inhuman maltreatment and racial discrimination within the U.S. Army."
 
According to the U.S. defense ministry, King was punished for misconduct while serving in South Korea and was to be sent home. The soldier did not get on the plane that was supposed to take him home and participated in the group tour at the Joint Security Area (JSA).
 
Private King became the first American in North Korean custody after Bruce Byron Lowrance, an American who had crossed into the North from the border with China in 2018. After detaining the American citizen for about a month, North Korea released Lowrance prior to talks between Washington and Pyongyang.