SEOUL – North Korea confirmed for the first time on Wednesday that it is holding American soldier Travis King, saying he crossed the border in July to escape racism and mistreatment in the US military and society.

Who is Travis King?

Private Travis T. King, who joined the US Army in January 2021, is a cavalry scout with the Korean Rotational Force, which is part of the US security commitment to South Korea.

He was assigned to an element of the US 1st Armoured Division and was then administratively attached to a unit in the 4th Infantry Division, a US army spokesman said.

His record includes routine awards such as the National Defence Service Medal, Korean Defence Service Medal and Overseas Service Ribbon.

His family is from Racine, Wisconsin.

Why did he cross to North Korea and where is he now?

His motivation and exact location remain unconfirmed.

He “harboured ill feeling against inhuman maltreatment and racial discrimination within the US Army” and wanted to stay in the North or a third country because he was “disillusioned at the unequal American society”, according to North Korean state news agency KCNA.

KCNA said he was held by the North Korean army after he crossed, but did not elaborate.

The Pentagon on Tuesday said it could not verify Pte King’s alleged comments, but it was working through all channels to bring him home.

His uncle, Mr Myron Gates, told ABC News in August that his nephew, who is black, had experienced racism during his military deployment, and after he spent time in a South Korean jail, he did not sound like himself.

Another uncle, Mr Carl Gates, told the Daily Beast his nephew had been “breaking down” after the death of a seven-year-old cousin in 2023.

How did he get to the border?

Pte King had served nearly two months in detention in South Korea and was being escorted to Seoul’s Incheon International Airport to fly home to face probable disciplinary action. But he never made it to his plane.

He had passed alone through security to his gate at the airport, where he told American Airlines staff that he had lost his passport, an airport official told Reuters.

Escorted by an airline worker with the approval of a South Korean Justice Ministry official, he left the boarding zone and was seen exiting through a departure gate.

The next day, he joined a bus tour of the heavily fortified demilitarised zone that has separated the two Koreas since the Korean War ended in 1953 with an armistice.

What happened at the border?

Roughly 24 hours after leaving the airport, Pte King sprinted into North Korea while touring the Joint Security Area, which sits astride the border.

Ms Sarah Leslie, a tourist from New Zealand who was on the tour with him, said she saw him suddenly run across the border as US and South Korean troops tried to stop him.

“I probably only saw him running for like a few seconds and that’s all it would have taken to get across the border,” she said.

What disciplinary action was he facing?

Two US officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said he had been due to face US military disciplinary action, without saying what the action was linked to.

A South Korean court ruling said Pte King pleaded guilty to assault and destruction of public goods stemming from an incident last October, and on Feb 8 the Seoul Western District Court fined him five million won (S$5,000).

He faced two allegations of assault and pleaded guilty to one instance of assault and destroying public property for damaging a police car during a profanity-laced tirade against Koreans, according to court documents.

He spent time in a South Korean prison, however, in lieu of paying the fine. REUTERS