https://sputnikglobe.com/20230719/us-soldier-who-crossed-into-north-korea-served-jail-time-was-facing-disciplinary-action-1111981196.html
US Soldier Who Crossed Into North Korea Served Jail Time, Was Facing Disciplinary Action
US Soldier Who Crossed Into North Korea Served Jail Time, Was Facing Disciplinary Action
Sputnik International
A US Soldier crossed the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea on Tuesday, possibly attempting to defect to North Korea.
2023-07-19T04:09+0000
2023-07-19T04:09+0000
2023-09-18T13:37+0000
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A US soldier who was just released from a South Korean jail and was facing additional military discipline and discharge from the service fled across the South Korean border into North Korea on Tuesday afternoon local time.Private 2nd Class Travis King, 23, was released from South Korean jail on July 10 after serving nearly two months for an assault charge. He was being sent back to Fort Bliss, Texas, and military personnel escorted him as far as customs; however, before boarding the plane he left the airport and traveled to Panmunjom, a Korean border city located within the 150-mile Joint Security Area, where forces from both sides face each other in relative proximity.King reportedly joined a tour group and then sprinted across the border before being apprehended by North Korean authorities. He is the first American to be detained by North Korea in nearly five years.It is not known if King intends to defect to North Korea, but if that is his intention, Sean Timmons, a military law expert, told a Canadian outlet that decision will likely be left up to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.According to a US Army spokesperson, King served in the military branch since 2021 and was in South Korea as part of the 1st Armored Division of the United States Forces Korea.The United States Forces Korea seemingly confirmed King planned to defect to North Korea, saying in a statement to US media that King “willfully and without authorization crossed the Military Demarcation Line into the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).”A Facebook* post by a Swedish woman who claimed to be on the same tour as King said that he could be heard laughing as he ran across the border.US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed the US military is aware of the situation. “This will develop in the next several days and hours, and we’ll keep you posted,” he said, noting that his primary concern is King’s wellbeing.A UN Command spokesperson confirmed they are in contact with the DPRK about the incident: “We believe he is currently in DPRK custody and are working with our KPA [Korean People’s Army] counterparts to resolve this incident.”
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230718/north-korea-us-south-korean-consultative-group-pushes-peninsula-to-brink-of-nuclear-war-1111959852.html
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defectors to north korea, travis king, demilitarized zone, us army
defectors to north korea, travis king, demilitarized zone, us army
US Soldier Who Crossed Into North Korea Served Jail Time, Was Facing Disciplinary Action
04:09 GMT 19.07.2023 (Updated: 13:37 GMT 18.09.2023) Six US soldiers have defected to North Korea since the armistice agreement was signed in 1953 to end hostilities on the Korean Peninsula - not counting the latest incident. The sixth was Pvt. Joseph T. White, who reportedly walked across a minefield in the Demilitarized Zone in 1982 with a duffle bag of documents while shouting: “I am coming.”
A US soldier who was just released from a South Korean jail and was facing additional military discipline and discharge from the service fled across the South Korean border into North Korea on Tuesday afternoon local time.
Private 2nd Class Travis King, 23, was released from South Korean jail on July 10 after serving nearly two months for an assault charge. He was being sent back to Fort Bliss, Texas, and military personnel escorted him as far as customs; however, before boarding the plane he left the airport and traveled to Panmunjom, a Korean border city located within the 150-mile Joint Security Area, where forces from both sides face each other in relative proximity.
King reportedly joined a tour group and then sprinted across the border before being apprehended by North Korean authorities. He is the first American to be detained by North Korea in nearly five years.
It is not known if King intends to defect to North Korea, but if that is his intention, Sean Timmons, a military law expert, told a Canadian outlet that decision will likely be left up to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
“It’s going to be up to the whims of their leadership, what they want to do,” Timmons said.
According to a US Army spokesperson, King served in the military branch since 2021 and was in South Korea as part of the 1st Armored Division of the United States Forces Korea.
The United States Forces Korea seemingly confirmed King planned to defect to North Korea, saying in a statement to US media that King “willfully and without authorization crossed the Military Demarcation Line into the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).”
A Facebook* post by a Swedish woman who claimed to be on the same tour as King said that he could be heard laughing as he ran across the border.
“To our right, we hear a loud HA-HA-HA and one guy from OUR GROUP that has been with us all day- runs in between two of the buildings and over to the other side!!” she wrote. “It took everybody a second to react and grasp what had actually happened, then we were ordered into and through Freedom House and running back to our military bus.”
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed the US military is aware of the situation. “This will develop in the next several days and hours, and we’ll keep you posted,” he said, noting that his primary concern is King’s wellbeing.
A UN Command spokesperson confirmed they are in contact with the DPRK about the incident: “We believe he is currently in DPRK custody and are working with our KPA [Korean People’s Army] counterparts to resolve this incident.”
Panmunjom is also known as “Truce Village” because the armistice that ended active hostilities in the Korean War was signed there. A peace treaty was never signed and South and North Korea technically remain at war.
Tensions have been increasing in the Korean peninsula, with South Korea, Japan and the United States running large military drills in the area, while North Korea has responded with missile launches.
