A US soldier who crossed into North Korea from South Korea last month has confessed to his illegal entry and expressed his willingness to seek refuge in the North or a third country, according to North Korean state media.
Private Travis King, 23, was detained by North Korean authorities on July 18 after he ran across the border from the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), a heavily fortified area that separates the two Koreas. He was on a guided tour of the DMZ when he broke free from his group and dashed into the North.
North Korea’s official KCNA news agency reported on Wednesday that King had admitted to violating the armistice agreement that ended the Korean War in 1953 and apologized for his “serious crime”. It also said that King had revealed his motive for crossing into the North, claiming that he was “disillusioned at the unequal American society” and had suffered “inhuman maltreatment and racial discrimination within the US Army”.
The report added that King had expressed his desire to stay in North Korea or a third country where he could be free from the US influence. It did not specify which third country he had in mind.
The US Department of Defense said it could not verify the comments reported by KCNA, but reiterated its focus on bringing King home safely. A Pentagon spokesperson said that the department was working through all available channels to achieve that outcome.
King is a reconnaissance specialist who had been in the army since January 2021 and was in South Korea as part of his rotation. He had served two months in detention in South Korea for assault charges before he was released on July 10. He was supposed to fly back to the US to face disciplinary proceedings but managed to leave the airport and join the DMZ tour.
He is the first US citizen in five years to be detained in North Korea. The last American who crossed into the North from the South was Matthew Todd Miller, who was arrested in 2014 and sentenced to six years of hard labor. He was released after seven months following high-level diplomatic negotiations.
The US and North Korea do not have diplomatic relations, and usually rely on the Swedish embassy in Pyongyang to handle consular matters. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Swedish diplomats have left the country since early 2020.
The UN Command, which polices the DMZ, said it had received a brief response from the North Korean Army about King’s situation, but did not disclose any details. It said it did not want to interfere with the efforts to bring him home.
The DMZ is one of the most tense and dangerous places in the world, filled with landmines, electric fences, surveillance cameras and armed guards. It has separated the two Koreas since the end of the Korean War, which technically remains unresolved as no peace treaty has been signed.