Army defector Travis King was confirmed back in US custody on Wednesday – just hours after North Korea announced it would “deport” him.
National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan confirmed that “US officials have sought the return of Travis King” two months after the 23-year-old soldier suddenly paralyzed the Korean border.
“We appreciate the dedication of the interagency team that has worked tirelessly out of concern for the well-being of the Private King,” Sullivan said, citing “the Swedish government for its diplomatic role.”
The confirmation came just hours after North Korea announced it planned to extradite the Wisconsin native, claiming he had admitted to illegally entering the Hermit Kingdom while under interrogation.
“Related organs [the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea] decided to deport Travis King, a US Army soldier who illegally invaded the territory of the DPRK, under the laws of the Republic,” the announcement read.
King was transferred to China, where he was taken into US custody in a rare example of cooperation between countries.
However, while helping transport the King out of North Korea, China did not play a “mediating role” in the process, a US official told CNN.
North Korea confirmed that US soldier Travis King is being held in the country.
By midday Wednesday, the door to the Wisconsin home of King’s mother, Claudine Gates’ Racine, had a sign reading “We are not answering questions at this time! Please respect our privacy!”
The front porch is also decorated with an American flag – which hangs with a blue field to the right of the audience, which is technically a violation of US code.
“Ms. Gates will be forever grateful to the United States Army and all of its interagency partners for a job well done,” family spokesman Jonathan Franks wrote in a statement.
King (in black hat) is seen visiting the Demilitarized Zone in South Korea before crossing the border.AP Photo/Sarah Jane Leslie
“For the foreseeable future, the family requests privacy, and Ms. Gates does not intend to grant any interviews.”
North Korea previously claimed that the young soldier – who faced disciplinary action following a series of dust-ups in South Korea – defected because he was bitter about mistreatment and racism in the US military.
King had recently been released from a South Korean prison and was preparing to fly back to the US when he snubbed his military escort and was later captured on film during a visit to the Joint Security Area – a border village in the demilitarized zone that separates the two. Korea controlled by troops from both sides — on July 18.
According to the official, King entered North Korea because he “harbored a bad feeling about the inhumane treatment and racial discrimination in the US Army.” VIA REUTERS
“To our right, we heard a loud HA-HA-HA sound and a man from OUR GROUP who had been with us all day ran between two buildings and across!!” Swedish tourist Mikaela Johansson wrote about the moment a private second class – who was in civilian clothes – ran across the border into North Korea.
US officials later confirmed that King made a “deliberate decision” to cross into the isolated Communist country.
Weeks later, the Pentagon refused to grant the Wisconsin native POW status, but still insisted that he was “humanely treated in accordance with international law.”
King reportedly wants to seek refuge in North Korea or another country. AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon
North Korea finally confirmed that King had been detained in the Hermit Kingdom in mid-August — and claimed that he fled there because he was “frustrated with the unequal American society.”
At the time, the US military refused to confirm the 23-year-old man’s claims of mistreatment and discrimination by Army superiors, CBS News reported.
The King’s apparent attempt at defection isn’t the first time he’s run into trouble: Months before the freak incident, he pleaded guilty to charges of assault and destruction of public property in connection with two violent incidents in Seoul in the fall of 2022 — including one in which he caused $460 in damage to police patrol car.
He was fined $3,950 by the Seoul Western District Court and also faces disciplinary action from the US military.
King’s distraught family said his recent behavior may be linked to the death of his 7-year-old cousin, who died last winter from a rare genetic disorder.
“When my son was on life support, and when my son died … Travis started [being] recklessly [and] crazy when he knew my son was dying,” King’s uncle, Carl Gates, told the Daily Beast.
The soldier’s mother insists that her son is loyal to the US and deserves to go home.
“I am very proud of him. I just want him to go home, back to America,” Gates told ABC News.
There is currently a State Department travel ban on North Korea, which was put in place when American college student Otto Warmbier was detained by authorities during a visit to the country in 2015.
The University of Virginia student was released and returned to the US in a coma in 2017, and died shortly after.
With Postal wire
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
