North Korea wants to deport fugitive American soldier Klitschko about Putin: “I was surprisingly impressed by him”

Two months after crossing the border into North Korea without permission, an American soldier has to leave the largely isolated country again. North Korean authorities have deported Travis K. from the country, the South Korean Yonhap news agency reported on Wednesday, citing the neighboring country’s state media.

The reason given was that the soldier had entered the People’s Republic illegally. It was initially unclear when he would leave the country.

North Korea first commented on the whereabouts of the young American in mid-August. He reportedly stated that he defected to North Korea out of anger over “inhumane treatment and racial discrimination in the US military.” According to Pyongyang, the black soldier has expressed a desire to seek refuge in North Korea or a third country.

North Korea’s account of the man’s alleged motives could not be independently verified. The US had no direct access to him. Both countries do not maintain diplomatic relations.

According to U.S. forces in South Korea, the soldier took part in a commercial tour of the South Korean part of the demilitarized zone in July and then deliberately crossed the border into North Korea. As the US Department of Defense later announced, the soldier would actually return home. In South Korea he had spent some time in a detention center for a crime.

(yam/sda/dpa)