Aug. 16 (UPI) — North Korea said Tuesday that Travis King, the private who bolted across the military demarcation line with South Korea in July, had confessed to defecting because of “inhuman” treatment in the U.S. Army.
King, 23, had accompanied tourists to the joint security area of Panmunjom on July 18 before he “illegally intruded” into North Korea, according to the Korean Central News Agency — one of the propaganda arms of the isolated regime.
“Travis King admitted that he illegally intruded into the territory of the DPRK,” the North Korean officials said, using the initialism for the official name of the country — the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
The North Korean officials said King confessed after an “investigation” by a “relevant organ” of the government.
“During the investigation, Travis King confessed that he had decided to come over to the DPRK as he harbored ill feeling against inhuman maltreatment and racial discrimination within the U.S. Army,” the North Korean officials said.
“He also expressed his willingness to seek refugee in the DPRK or a third country, saying that he was disillusioned at the unequal American society. The investigation continues.”
King was a Cavalry Scout who enlisted in the U.S. Army in January 2021. He has no combat deployments, according to his official biography released to UPI. His awards include the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Defense Service Medal and Overseas Service Ribbon.
Last month, the White House said it had reached out to North Korea to bring King home. The U.S.-led United Nations Command, which controls DMZ access and military demarcation line crossings, had contacted North Korea using established communication channels.
Before he defected, King had been held in South Korea on assault charges and was released on July 10 after he allegedly caused hundreds of dollars in damage to a police car and shouted profanities about South Koreans and the South Korean army.
He was being sent home to Fort Bliss in Texas, where he likely would have been discharged from service and faced additional military disciplinary actions. He had been dropped off at the airport and escorted as far as customs but ultimately left the airport instead of getting on his plane home.
