North Korea ‘expels’ US soldier Travis King weeks after he sprinted across the border into the rogue state during a tour of the region

US soldier Travis King will be deported from North Korea, state media announced on Wednesday.

North Korea’s KCNA news agency reported that King is being removed from the country due to his “illegal entry” in July, when he broke away from a tour group touring the DMZ and took a flight to the communist country.

Officials in the country said they had completed their “interrogation” of King, saying he sought refuge in North Korea because he harbored “bad feelings against inhumane mistreatment and racial discrimination” in the US military.

It is not clear where 23-year-old Private King will be sent or when exactly he will be released. The rogue state infamously maintains virtually non-existent diplomatic relations with its neighbors, with the notable exceptions of Russia and China.

King would return to Texas to respond to allegations of assault stemming from an incident that occurred while he was on base in South Korea.

Family members described King as a quiet loner who did not drink or smoke and enjoyed reading the Bible. After growing up in southeastern Wisconsin, he was excited about serving his country in South Korea.

King’s family isn’t sure what was going through his mind when he encountered a country with a long history of detaining Americans and using them as a bargaining chip.

King was scheduled to be returned to the US the same week he crossed the DMZ to face military discipline after serving nearly two months in a South Korean prison for assault.

He was seen wearing a black T-shirt and hat purchased at a gift shop in the demilitarized zone as he peered across the border into the secretive communist country in a photo released shortly after his bizarre act.