An American soldier facing disciplinary action fled across the inter-Korean border into North Korea on Tuesday, and is believed to be in North Korean custody, US officials said.
The US Army identified the soldier as Private Travis T. King, who enlisted in 2021, and was set to return to his home unit in Texas, where he could possibly face further action. The soldier had already finished serving detention in South Korea for assault.
He was taken to the airport by the US military, where he appeared to have changed his mind and took a civilian tour of the Panmunjom truce village, during which, he crossed the Military Demarcation Line.
The heavily fortified border has separated the two Koreas since the Korean War ended in 1953.
US Response
The US military in Korea said that King was on an orientation tour of Joint Security Area between the Koreas and “wilfully and without authorization crossed the Military Demarcation Line into the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).”
Washington faces a fresh crisis in its dealings with North Korea after an American soldier facing disciplinary action by the US military fled across the Korean demilitarized zone into the nuclear-armed state https://t.co/35mTPXYLhm pic.twitter.com/coXw12tKEr
— Reuters (@Reuters) July 19, 2023
“There’s a lot that we’re still trying to learn,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told a news briefing. “We believe that he is in (North Korean) custody and so we’re closely monitoring and investigating the situation and working to notify the soldier’s next of kin.”
Colonel Isaac Taylor, spokesperson for US Forces Korea, said that the US military was “working with [its] KPA counterparts to resolve this incident,” referring to North Korea’s People’s Army.
The spokesperson added that the UN Command, which oversees border security, had used hotlines to communicate with the North Koreans about the incident, but did not give further details.
“We communicate with the North Koreans every single day. It’s all part of the armistice agreement,” he said.
In addition, White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said the Pentagon and the State Department were also working “to ascertain more information and resolve this situation.”
“We’re in the early stages,” she said, adding that the government’s primary concern was determining King’s well-being.
North Korean Response
Meanwhile, North Korea has so far remained silent about the highly unusual occurrence on its border.
However, it test-fired short-range missiles Wednesday in its latest weapons display, just hours after the US docked its ballistic submarine in South Korea for the first time in 40 years.
It is uncertain how long North Korean authorities will hold King, but analysts said the incident could be valuable propaganda for Pyongyang.
“Looking at previous cases of US servicemen who went into the North, holding an American soldier is probably a not very cost-effective headache for the North in the long run,” said Tae Yong-ho, a member of South Korea’s parliament.
Defection attempts to the authoritarian country are extremely rare, although Americans have been detained there in the past.