Asia-Pacific

North Korea says US soldier who crossed over was disillusioned at American society

Travis King entered North Korea on July 18th while on a tour of a border village

US soldier Travis King who crossed into North Korea. Photograph: Family handout via AP/PA

Wed Aug 16 2023 - 06:24

North Korea said a US soldier who crossed into the country across the heavily armed Korean border last month did so after being disillusioned at the inequality of American society.

Private 2nd Class Travis King entered North Korea on July 18th while on a tour of a Korean border village, becoming the first American detained in the North in nearly five years.

The North’s official Korean Central News Agency said Mr King told investigators that he had decided to enter North Korea because he “harboured ill feeling against inhuman maltreatment and racial discrimination within the US Army”.

It says Mr King also expressed his willingness to seek refuge in North Korea or a third country, saying that he “was disillusioned at the unequal American society”.

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North Korea says an investigation into Mr King would continue. It is North Korea’s first official comments on Mr King since his entrance to the North about a month ago.

US officials have declined so far to classify him as a prisoner of war.

Before crossing at a truce village that straddles the two countries, Mr King had been jailed for nearly two months in South Korea on assault charges and was scheduled to fly to Texas, where he faced expulsion from the army.

Instead, he left the airport and joined a tour to the Joint Security Area in Panmunjom, where he ran across the border. North Korean military personnel took him into custody and he was driven off in a van.

Mr King joined the US army in January 2021. – Agencies

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