An American soldier is said to be in North Korea custody for the first time in decades, know about Travis King as his photo goes viral
On Tuesday, the US Army identified the soldier as Pvt. Travis King, who crossed the demarcation line into North Korea.
Who is Private Travis King US Army soldier who fled to North Korea, bio, age, family, parents, photo
What in the bloody hell was Travis King thinking.
He assaults Korean citizens, then goes on a racist rank against Koreans while in custody—and then he decides to cross into North Korea.
Whatever punishment he faced in the US will pale in comparison to what he’s about to endure. pic.twitter.com/F4gMhnpt2j
— JΛKΣ (@USMCLiberal) July 19, 2023
2nd Class Travis King has been a calvary scout with the U.S. Army since January 2021 and the 23-year-old had been stationed in South Korea, but had recently been held in a prison there on charges of assault, the AP reported.
Who is Travis King? The U.S. soldier who crossed into North Korea
According to U.S. officials, an American soldier who had spent nearly two months in a South Korean prison slipped across the heavily guarded border into North Korea and is now the first American held there for almost five years.
The latest incident might give the United States and its partner South Korea diplomatic headaches as they try to maintain pressure on Pyongyang as the isolated country increases its ballistic missile testing and bellicose rhetoric.
Who is Travis King?
According to representatives, Pvt. 2nd Class Travis King joined the American Army in January 2021 as a calvary scout. King was released to American officials at the military centre in the nation approximately a week ago, though it is unclear how long he had been imprisoned.
King was being brought to an airport outside of Seoul, where he was supposed to catch a plane for Fort Bliss, Texas, to face military punishment. However, he instead ran off into North Korea.
Officials managed to get King through airport security, but he found a way to elude the escort, escape the terminal, and return to the demilitarised Zone separating North and South Korea. King, who was dressed casually, took part in a tour of the Korean border settlement of Panmunjom.
A tour group member wrote about the incident in a since-deleted Facebook post, claiming that the King cried out before running between two structures and eventually entering North Korea. Whether he intended to defect is unknown.
Where Is Travis King Now?
Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin stated during a press briefing on Tuesday that authorities believe King is in the hands of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
Austin declared, “The welfare of our troops is my number one priority.”
North Korea has not released any formal statements to date.
Claudine Gates, King’s mother, who resides in Racine, Wisconsin, said that she was astounded when Army officials informed her that her son had gone.
Gates remarked, “I can’t see Travis doing anything like that.”
She claimed that she hadn’t spoken to her son since he called a few days prior to inform her that he was returning to his base in Fort Bliss.
Travis King In North Korea
Meanwhile, it is still unknown if King had a strategy or acted spontaneously when he fled North Korea.
According to some experts, planning a trip to the demilitarised Zone takes days.
A former employee of a tour firm that transported American soldiers to the border and host of the North Korea News podcast, Jacco Zwetsloot, said that there was “no way this person could escape from the airport one day and book onto one of these tours the next.”
According to him, these excursions often take three days to prepare. Tourists must present government officials with their passports and other identification documents.
Can Americans Bring King Back Home?
Since the United States doesn’t have formal diplomatic ties with Pyongyang, the soldier’s detention presents a new diplomatic obstacle for Washington’s apprehensive relationship with North Korea.
According to Greg Myre of NPR, Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea, may try to use the incident for political purposes.
Myre told All Things Considered that it “certainly wouldn’t be surprising” if North Korea tried to score some propaganda points or put forth demands in exchange for turning up the soldier.
Over the years, North Korea has imprisoned a large number of Americans.
It's utterly unbelievable how a soldier under punishment was given tour of sensitive border area. US Army gave him a chance to make mockery of it's image. In fact Pentagon isn't concerned about Travis King but how many beans he can spill in North Korea.#TravisKing #defected." pic.twitter.com/8E1vGhoRBc
— @Shyamakant Dubey (@IamShyakandu) July 18, 2023
If #TravisKing did willfully cross into N. Korea, fucking leave his bitch ass there. This better not turn into another Bergdahl situation. King should be written off as a shitbag that wants to live in NK. But, I have a feeling our pussy ass administration is going to give NK…
— Degenerate Paratrooper (@OlBroken82nd) July 19, 2023