Border Crossed: This is how the US soldier came to North Korea – and that’s him

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The American soldier who illegally crossed the border into North Korea during a tour on Tuesday is Travis King (23) from the state of Wisconsin. As “The Messenger” reports, King has been with the US military since January 2021 and was last stationed in South Korea. A “serious incident report” from the US military, to which the news magazine refers, shows that King was involved in several incidents prior to Tuesday’s action.

The document describes how the soldier was detained in South Korea for attacks in September and October 2022. There would have been three disciplinary incidents. King was first detained and then transferred to a South Korean facility. The US soldier served 50 days of hard labor before being released on July 10, 2023.

Escaped from the airport

In May, King booked two different tours of the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea. This was before he was imprisoned for 50 days. The soldier missed the first date, but was able to confirm his reservation for the second tour shortly after his release. The tour was booked with a private company, according to the report.

Actually, King should have taken a flight to the US on July 17. U.S. and South Korean military escorts escorted him to Seoul Airport and saw him go through customs around 4:30 p.m. But the soldier did not travel to his homeland and left the airport again. On July 18, Texas Army personnel informed King’s superiors in Korea that he had not arrived and was not responding to text messages or phone calls. The U.S. military in Korea contacted South Korean Customs through official channels and confirmed that King had not boarded the flight.

Accepted to tour despite incident

When King arrived for his tour of the DMZ on Tuesday, he turned himself in with his ID. The tour company has submitted the list of participants to the UN body that oversees the ceasefire between the two Koreas. Despite King’s disciplinary incidents and failure to show up to leave the country, the soldier was accepted into the tour.

The visit began around 2:30 p.m. at Camp Bonifas, a UN military base south of the southern border of the demilitarized zone, according to the U.S. military report. About an hour later, King broke away from his group and ran north between American and South Korean soldiers.

Taken away by North Korean forces

A witness who attended the tour told CBS that the American soldier was having fun crossing the border. He laughed out loud and walked back and forth between the light blue buildings in the demilitarized zone. “I thought it was a bad joke at first, but when he didn’t come back I realized it wasn’t a joke,” the witness said.

The internal army report says King boarded a van on the North Korean side and was driven from the area by North Korean forces. The US soldier is in the custody of North Korean authorities, the UN command in the demilitarized zone said Tuesday. Following the incident, all tours were canceled indefinitely.

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, 69, described King’s border crossing as “deliberate and unauthorized”. The US government is now trying to contact North Korea through third countries to clarify the whereabouts of the soldier. As reported by Reuters news agency, Pyongyang has not yet responded. (no)

Source: Blick