The Pentagon said on Tuesday (August 1) that North Korea had provided a brief statement to the United Nations (UN) Command on US soldier Travis King, who raced into North Korea last month while on a tour of the border’s Demilitarized Zone. According to Reuters, Pentagon spokesperson Brigadier General Patrick Ryder stated that North Korea simply acknowledged the UN Command’s request for information about King and did not provide comprehensive information about him.
“I can confirm that the DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) has responded to United Nations Command, but I don’t have any substantial progress to read out,” General Ryder told reporters, adding Pyongyang’s message back to the UN Command was just “an acknowledgment” of the Command’s inquiry. On July 18, King, a US Army private, dashed into North Korea and was apprehended, putting the US in a new diplomatic bind with Pyongyang.
Concerns over the fate of King in North Korea
Travis King entered the army in 2021 and served as a Cavalry Scout in the Korean Rotational Force, as part of the United States’ decades-long commitment to South Korean security. His position, however, was marred by legal issues. In South Korea, he was accused of assault and received a hard labor sentence at the Cheonan correctional institution from May 24 to July 10.
King was released and spent a week at a US facility in South Korea before racing into North Korea. American officials are now concerned about King’s fate in North Korea.
His entry into the reclusive country has prompted observers to warn tourists that if excursions to the border between North and South Korea begin, they should expect significantly stricter control.
The Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas is a popular tourist destination for those interested in seeing the secluded authoritarian state.
The Joint Security Area (JSA) inside the DMZ is one of the most profitable packages for tour operators in South Korea. Lim Eul-Chul, a professor of North Korean studies at Kyungnam University, told Reuters that officials should concentrate on how to properly supervise tour groups while keeping the area available to the public.