- North Korea has now publicly acknowledged the custody of American soldier Travis King. The 23-year-old private crossed from South Korea to North Korea while on a guided tour in July.
North Korea concluded that Travis King wants refuge there or in another country because of “inhuman maltreatment and racial discrimination” in the US and the military, its state media said.
It is North Korea’s first public acknowledgement of King’s crossing from South Korea on 18 July.
A private in the US Army, King dashed into the North while on a civilian tour of the Joint Security Area (JSA) on the heavily fortified border between the two Koreas.
US officials have said they believe King crossed the border intentionally, and have declined so far to classify him as a prisoner of war.
North Korean investigators have also concluded that King crossed deliberately and illegally, with the intent to stay in the North or in a third country, state news agency KCNA said.
“During the investigation, Travis King confessed that he had decided to come over to the DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) as he harboured ill feeling against inhuman maltreatment and racial discrimination within the US Army,” KCNA reported.
“He also expressed his willingness to seek refugee in the DPRK or a third country, saying that he was disillusioned at the unequal American society.”
Pentagon says it is working on safe return
KCNA said King was “kept under control by soldiers of the Korean People’s Army” after his crossing and the investigation is still active.
King’s uncle, Myron Gates, told ABC News earlier in August that his nephew was experiencing racism during his military deployment, and after he spent time in a South Korean jail, he did not sound like himself.
Travis King’s uncle, Myron Gates, (left) says his nephew experienced racism during his US military deployment. Travis King’s grandfather, Carl Gates, is also pictured in this photo. Source: AAP / Morry Gash
US officials have so far said that the North had not provided substantive responses to their requests for information on King.
The Pentagon said it could not verify King’s comments as reported by KCNA, and remains focused on his safe return. It did not address whether it had heard more details from North Korea.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A spokesman for the United Nations Command (UNC), which oversees the border village where King crossed, said he did not have anything to add to previous statements.
A prisoner of war?
How to classify the 23-year-old has been an open question for the US military.
As an active-duty soldier he might appear to qualify as a prisoner of war (POW), given that the United States and North Korea technically remain at war. The 1950-53 Korean War ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty.
The Korean Peninsula technically remains at war with the UNC providing oversight for the armistice.
Factors including King’s decision to cross into North Korea of his own free will, in civilian attire, appear to have disqualified him from POW status, US officials have said.
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.
But his posting was dogged by legal troubles.
He faced two allegations of assault in South Korea, and eventually 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 was due to face more disciplinary measures when he arrived back in the United States.
King had finished serving military detention and had been taken by the US military to the airport to return to his home unit in the United States.
Instead, he left the airport and joined a tour of the border area, where he ran across despite attempts by South Korean and US guards to stop him.
@SBS News, Australia