“Absent without reason”: This is how the Pentagon officially defines American soldier Travis King, who fled north during a tourist visit to the middle of the 38th parallel, which bisects the Korean peninsula. Three days later, North Korea has still not released any information about the fate of the soldier. A still incomprehensible act that drew world press attention back to Panmunjom, the village where the 1953 Korean War Armistice was signed. Washington says it has tried every possible means of contacting the North Koreans, both through the “red line” and by asking for help from Swedish diplomacy, since the United States has no ties with Pyongyang: in fact, the war is technically not over, having only been in a truce phase for seventy years. No reply from the north as of this morning. It is possible that Kim Jong-un’s intelligence is trying to understand who he is dealing with in order to make the most of the opportunity.
– US soldier Travis King
Even the Americans seem uncertain. This story seems too absurd not to hide some secrets. The Pentagon says the first concern is the health of the young man who surrendered to the North Koreans, but there must also be some doubts. News site The Messenger was able to read the first report by US Army investigators on the matter. It appears that on Tuesday, July 18, after crossing the demarcation line in Panmunjom (an eight-inch high curb because the armistice is being celebrated there), the soldier turned behind a building and got into a North Korean army van. A US official told The Messenger that the possibility that the North Koreans knew in advance of Travis’ intentions and were waiting for him should also be considered. For hours on Tuesday morning, after the soldier’s spectacular disappearance, the US command in Seoul only said that “an American citizen had voluntarily crossed the demarcation line without permission”. However, the South Korean army already knew that the missing person was a soldier of Travis King, a second-class private, the second-lowest in the US Army hierarchy. Then more details came to light that help establish the profile of the deserter. He is 23 years old, drafted in January 2021, trained as a cavalry scout (i.e. an expert in field reconnaissance) and assigned to the contingent in South Korea.
In the few months he spent on the peninsula, King had received three awards: the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Defense Service Medal, and the Overseas Service Ribbon. A great item, but no exception: the US military hands out tapes almost routinely, but keep it straight. But in September 2022, Travis King transforms from a model soldier into a ruthless thug: in a brawl at a Seoul nightclub, he punches a South Korean civilian. He gets off scot-free because the victim doesn’t report it. In October there is another fight, the police arrive and the soldier reacts again, is arrested and kicks the police car. This time he ends up before the judge, who sentences him to 50 days of hard labor in a South Korean prison. Ruined military career. Released July 10 and sent to Fort Bliss, Texas, to face another disciplinary hearing. Possible outcome: dishonorable discharge. Not a pretty prospect, but not even a nightmare to escape from with an absurd escape to North Korea, the world’s most closed regime, where even the common people suffer from hunger. On July 17, a military police patrol escorted King to Incheon Airport near Seoul. She drops him after he goes through passport control and leaves. But when he is alone, the soldier tells the boarding staff that he has lost his passport. They allow him to return to the drawing room. And from here it disappears. At least approximate certainty, especially considering the subject should be monitored.
The US command in Seoul only learned the next morning that King had not taken that plane. Another strange fact emerges from the military investigation: last spring, before ending up in jail while already on trial in Seoul awaiting sentencing, Travis King had booked two visits to Panmunjom through a regular travel agent. The first ticket was for May: lost because the young man was serving his sentence. But as soon as he was released on July 10, he immediately rescheduled to July 18, knowing he would have to go to Fort Bliss, Texas on the 17th. The disgraced cavalry scout used his badge for the tour accreditation process. All names of participants will be provided by the United Nations Command at Panmunjom (run by the US Army). Apparently, nobody noticed that Travis King was “unlawfully gone.” Another case of misconduct. And that morning, although he was now a wanted man, the soldier showed up in a black T-shirt and cap to the appointment on a bus that was taking a group of about thirty tourists from Seoul to the 38th Parallel.
Travel companions say it was calm and quiet the entire time. Until, as the lead passed between the blue huts of Panmunjom, they heard him laughing loudly as he made a running start for North Korean territory. “At first I thought it was a joke, someone who wanted to post a silly story on TikTok,” a witness said. The guards are unarmed, based on international agreements in force only in the Panmunjom “Common Security Zone” (Northern and Southern armies are armed and entrenched on all other 240 kilometers of the border). King instantly spiraled out of control as the US and South Korean military yelled, “Stop this guy.” It wasn’t some insane social media gimmick. But an escape. No explanation at the moment. Sure, being dishonorably discharged from the US Army isn’t a pretty prospect for a 23-year-old. But surrendering to the North Koreans, with all the risks that entails, does not appear to be a sensible solution. The double booking of the visit and the North Korean van that was parked just inside the border crossing may not be a coincidence. The fact is that a private, second-class service has little to offer in terms of intelligence. In the past, Pyongyang’s propaganda has used some defectors to show that “American children are fleeing the imperialist yoke.” Four or five of them were employed as actors in Korean War films made in North Korea. But it was the 1960s, nobody believes those stories anymore.