SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Travis King, the American soldier who deliberately escaped throughout the border into North Korea this summer season, is again in U.S. custody, a U.S. official mentioned Wednesday, shortly after the remoted East Asian nation introduced it will expel the soldier. .
“US officers have succeeded in securing the return of Personal Travis King from the Democratic Folks’s Republic of Korea,” Pentagon spokesman Brigadier Basic Patrick Ryder mentioned in a press release. He thanked the American navy personnel who labored to “convey Personal King dwelling.” “, in addition to the governments of Sweden and China.
King, 23, escaped throughout the closely armed border on July 18 throughout a public tour of the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea.
An announcement carried by the North’s Korean Central Information Company mentioned that King admitted that he “illegally intruded” into North Korean territory as a result of he was “upset about inhumane therapy and racial discrimination” within the navy, in addition to “the present inequality inside the US.” “Society,” KCNA mentioned.
The US has not but formally responded to those allegations.
Earlier than crossing the border, King had not lengthy been launched from a South Korean jail, and the navy was escorting him to Incheon Worldwide Airport close to Seoul to probably face additional disciplinary motion in the US.
A senior administration official mentioned King violated a part of the joint safety settlement and was escorted to the airport after finishing his sentence.
The official instructed NBC Information that King as an alternative joined a industrial tour group headed to the Joint Safety Space, a United Nations-administered north-south space.