A US soldier who spent nearly two months in a South Korean prison fled across the heavily armed border North Koreabecome the first American to be detained in the North in nearly five years.
Private 2nd Class Travis King was held on assault charges and was released on July 10 after serving his time.
Instead of getting on a plane to be taken back to Fort Bliss, Texas, he took off and joined a tour of the Korean border village of Panmunjom, where he ran across the border, US officials say.
His detention came before North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles into its eastern sea early Wednesday in what appeared to be a statement of defiance as the United States sent a nuclear-armed submarine to South Korea for the first time in decades.
However, his mother has spoken out denying he was on the run, saying she desperately wants her son to come home.
Travis King crossed the border into North Korea shortly after his release from prison in South Korea
‘I am so proud of him. I just want him to come home, back to America,” Claudine Gates told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
Gates added that she could not see her son flee on purpose and enter North Korea.
According to officials, the 23-year-old King was taken to the airport and escorted through customs.
But instead of getting on the plane, he left the airport and later joined a tour of the Korean border village Panmunjom.
He shot across the border, which is lined with guards and often packed with tourists, on Tuesday afternoon local time in Korea.
The military released his name and limited information after King’s family was notified of the incident.
But a number of US officials provided additional details on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the case.
It was not clear how he got to the border or how he spent the hours between leaving the airport on Monday and crossing the border a day later.
At a Pentagon press conference Tuesday, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin confirmed that the US military is likely now in North Korean custody.
King shot across the border, which is lined with guards and often packed with tourists, on Tuesday afternoon local time in Korea
At a Pentagon press conference Tuesday, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin confirmed that the US military is likely now in North Korean custody.
“We are closely monitoring and investigating the situation,” said Austin, noting that he was particularly concerned about the well-being of the troop. “This will develop over the next few days and hours and we will keep you posted.”
According to Army spokesman Bryce Dubee, King is a cavalry scout who joined the service in January 2021. He was in Korea as part of the 1st Armored Division.
The US-led UN command said he is believed to be in North Korean custody and that the command is working with its North Korean counterparts to resolve the incident. North Korean state media did not immediately report on the border crossing.
Cases of Americans or South Koreans defecting to North Korea are rare, although more than 30,000 North Koreans have fled to South Korea since the end of the 1950-1953 Korean War to avoid political repression and economic hardship.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles from an area near the capital Pyongyang from 3:30 a.m. to 3:46 a.m., which flew about 541 miles before landing in waters east of the Korean peninsula.
That flight data was similar to the Japanese military’s assessment, which said the missiles had landed outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone and there were no immediate reports of damage from ships or aircraft in the affected areas.
The flight distance of the North Korean missiles was roughly equivalent to the distance between Pyongyang and the South Korean port city of Busan, where the USS Kentucky arrived Tuesday afternoon during the first US nuclear submarine visit to South Korea since the 1980s.
Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada told reporters that the North Korean missiles had a low orbit, with a maximum altitude of about 50 kilometers, and may have exhibited an “irregular maneuver” in flight.
Japan has previously used similar language to describe the flight characteristics of a North Korean weapon, modeled after Russia’s Iskander missile, which flies at low altitudes and is designed to be maneuverable in flight to reduce the chances of evading missile defenses. enlarge.
North Korea fired two short-range missiles into its eastern sea early Wednesday in what appeared to be a statement of defiance as the United States sent a nuclear-armed submarine to South Korea for the first time in decades.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff condemned the North Korean launches as a “major provocation” threatening peace and stability in the region and said the South Korean and US militaries were closely monitoring the North for further weapons activity.
Tuesday’s border crossing came amid high tensions over North Korea’s barrage of missile tests since early last year.
A US nuclear-armed submarine visited South Korea on Tuesday for the first time in four decades in deterrence against North Korea.
Wednesday’s launches marked the North’s first ballistic activity since July 12, when it tested a new intercontinental solid-fuel ballistic missile that demonstrated a potential range to reach deep into the US mainland.
The United States, South Korea and others have accused North Korea of using foreign captives to extract diplomatic concessions. Some foreigners have said after their release that their pleas were enforced while they were in North Korean custody.