According to North Korea's official media, a US soldier who sprinted across the heavily fortified North Korean border last month acknowledged to unlawfully invading into the nation with the goal to "seek refuge."
The soldier's name has been given as Pvt. Travis King is 23 years old. On July 18, he unlawfully crossed the heavily fortified North Korean border while on a civilian tour of the demilitarized zone's Joint Security Area.
Pvt. King had served two months in a South Korean jail for assault and was scheduled to return to Fort Bliss, Texas, on July 18, when he might have faced further military discipline and expulsion from the army.
On August 16, the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) announced that Pvt. North Korean soldiers "kept King under control" after he purposefully intruded into North Korean territory.
According to KCNA, Pvt. King admitted to crossing into North Korea because he "had ill feelings against inhuman maltreatment and racial discrimination within the United States." Army."
“He also expressed his willingness to seek refuge in the DPRK or a third country, saying that he was disillusioned at the unequal American society,” KCNA stated.
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea, or DPRK, is North Korea's official name. According to KCNA, an inquiry into the issue is presently being conducted by "a relevant organ of the DPRK."
This is North Korea's first public reaction on the situation of the American soldier. The US had frequently demanded an update from North Korea's authorities but had gotten no answer.
On August 1, Pentagon spokesperson Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder stated that North Korea accepted the United Nations Command's inquiry into the soldier but provided no further details.
Previously, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin stated that Pvt. The military demarcation line dividing the two Koreas had been crossed "willfully and without authorization" by King.
