American soldier Travis King in US custody after expulsion from North Korea to China

SEOUL – Private Travis King, the American soldier who ran into North Korea in July, is in US custody after being expelled by North Korea into China, US officials said on Wednesday.

North Korea’s KCNA state news agency said Pte King was expelled after admitting to entering the North illegally as he was “disillusioned about unequal US society”.

A US official told Reuters that Pte King was expelled into China, but did not offer further details.

The explusion decision was contained in the final results of an investigation into the soldier’s July border crossing published by KCNA.

In August, the investigation reported interim findings that he wanted refuge in North Korea or elsewhere because of maltreatment and racial discrimination within the US army.

“King confessed that he illegally intruded into the territory of the DPRK as he harboured ill feeling against inhuman maltreatment and racial discrimination within the US army and was disillusioned about the unequal US society,” KCNA said, using the initials for the North’s official name, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

The authorities had decided to expel Pte King under the country’s law, KCNA said.

It did not specify how, when or to where he would be expelled.

The US State Department and the White House could not be immediately reached for comment.

US Forces Korea and the United Nations Command did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The US Army private made a sudden dash into North Korea from the South on July 18 while on a civilian tour of the Joint Security Area on the heavily fortified border between the neighbours.

There have been several attempts by US soldiers stationed in South Korea to desert or defect to North Korea.

But Pte King’s expulsion decision came relatively quickly; others have spent years before being released from the reclusive country.

Mr Jonathan Franks, spokesman for Pte King’s family, said: “No substantive comment expected. We need time.”

In August, Pte King’s uncle, Mr Myron Gates, told ABC News that his nephew, who is black, experienced racism during his military deployment.

He added that after Pte King spent time in a South Korean jail, he did not sound like himself.

Pte King, who joined the US Army in January 2021, faced two allegations of assault in South Korea.

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

He was due to face more disciplinary measures when he arrived back in the United States.

He had finished serving military detention and had been transported by the US military to the airport to return to his home unit in the US.

Instead, he left the airport and joined a tour of the border area, where he ran across to the North despite attempts by South Korean and US guards to stop him.

Dr Lim Eul-chul, a professor of North Korean studies at South Korea’s Kyungnam University, said Pyongyang could have felt that any diplomatic and propaganda value in keeping Pte King was outweighed by the likely US pressure it would face.

“It seems likely that North Korea saw little value in him as a countermeasure to a US human rights campaign against themselves by highlighting racial issues in America,” he said.

“The decision could also mean that the political burden from detaining him for a long term would be greater than any political benefits it might bring.” REUTERS