"The conversation has commenced with the KPA through the mechanisms of the armistice agreement," Lt. Gen. Andrew Harrison, deputy commander of the UN Command, said during a press conference.
Harrison added that "the primary concern for us is Private King’s welfare."
King was serving with the US Army in South Korea and had recently completed a two-month prison sentence for assault and destroying public property. He had been due to return to Texas for further disciplinary action. At Seoul airport, he instead somehow managed to join a tour to the DMZ, where he unexpectedly ran across the border into North Korea.
Harrison noted that tours in the Joint Security Area now had been suspended.