The American soldier who entered North Korea two months ago is in US custody, a senior Biden administration official told on Wednesday.
Pvt. Travis King was transferred to U.S. custody in China after North Korea expelled him across their shared border, a U.S. official told the AP. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss King’s status.
North Korea had previously announced that it would expel King. That announcement surprised some observers who had expected the North to delay his detention in hopes of extracting concessions from Washington at a time of high tensions between the rivals.
North Korea’s state news agency KCNA reported early Wednesday that King was expelled from the country for his “illegal entry” in July, when he broke free from a tour group touring the DMZ and stormed into the communist country.
King, 23, had recently been released from a South Korean prison after an assault conviction in that country and was set to return to Texas, where he faced a dishonorable discharge.
North Korea has still not produced the 23-year-old Private Second Class
U.S. Army Private 2nd Class Travis King, encircled, is pictured during the tour just before his jump across the border into North Korea. His hat was purchased at a gift shop in the demilitarized zone
According to KCNA, North Korean officials said they had completed their “interview” of King and said he sought refuge in North Korea because of his “antipathy toward inhumane mistreatment and racial discrimination” in the U.S. military.
The rogue state notoriously maintains almost no diplomatic relations with its neighbors, with notable exceptions being Russia and China.
No details about King’s health have been released and he has not been seen since July.
Relatives described King as a quiet loner who neither drank nor smoked and enjoyed reading the Bible. After growing up in southeastern Wisconsin, he looked forward to serving his country in South Korea.
King’s family said they weren’t sure what was going through his mind as he wound up in a country where Americans have long been detained and used as bargaining chips.
The soldier was scheduled to return to the U.S. the same week he crossed the DMZ to face military discipline after spending nearly two months in a South Korean prison on assault charges.
He had several run-ins with police in South Korea over crimes including punching a man in a nightclub and damaging a police car, and pleaded guilty to assault in the latter incident.
King was escorted by US military police to Incheon Airport to board a flight back to the US, but his guards were unable to enter the terminal, where he apparently turned around and headed for the DMZ, the heavily fortified border between North and South Korea South.
In the DMZ’s common security area, which is open to tourists, he was seen wearing a black T-shirt and a cap he bought at a gift shop as he peered across the border into the secretive communist country.
Witnesses said he laughed hysterically as he made the mad dash in July after fleeing his military superiors and joining the tour.
Relatives described King as a quiet loner who neither drank nor smoked and enjoyed reading the Bible
Former President Donald Trump met North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un on June 30, 2019, at Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone in South Korea – the site where King made his crossing
Leading up to his surprise release on Wednesday, concerns about King’s well-being grew after North Korea received no information about his condition for months.
In August, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told CNN that detaining a U.S. soldier for propaganda purposes was consistent with North Korea’s game plan.
“They definitely could. … We haven’t seen any signs that this is exactly what’s going on here, but it certainly wouldn’t be out of character for them. “We’re focused on making sure we get information on him,” Kirby told Jake Tapper.
Kirby also stated that officials were completely in the dark about King’s condition and whereabouts in North Korea.
Unconfirmed reports claimed King had “defected” to the North, while his mother spoke out and said she couldn’t imagine her son would do “something like that”.
U.S. officials said King crossed the border “intentionally and without authorization.”
In an interview with The Associated Press last month, King’s mother, Claudine Gates, said her son had “so many reasons” to want to come home.
“I just can’t imagine him ever wanting to just stay in Korea when he has family in America.” “He has so many reasons to come home,” she said.