North Korea said on Wednesday that a US soldier who crossed into the nation last month acknowledged entering illegally. According to state media KCNA, Private Travis King expressed a willingness to seek asylum in the North or a third country because he “was disillusioned with the unequal American society.” According to state media accounts, the US soldier admitted to crossing into North Korea due to “inhuman maltreatment and racial discrimination within the US Army.”
It is North Korea’s first public acknowledgment of the incident
It is North Korea’s first public acknowledgment of the incident. The soldier crossed into the country on July 18 while on a civilian tour of the strongly defended border between the North and South. North Korea has stated that its probe into King will continue. According to a Pentagon official, the US could not confirm the claims reported by North Korean state media.
The US Department of Defense stated that it is still concerned about King’s safety and return home. “We remain committed to his safe return.” “The department’s priority is to bring Private King home, and we are working through all available channels to accomplish that,” a Pentagon spokesperson told Reuters.
After a drunken pub brawl, an altercation with police, and a spell in a South Korean jail, King was being led to the airport to fly back to Texas when he escaped. Instead of attending disciplinary procedures at Fort Bliss, King joined a DMZ tour group and crossed the border in mid-July. He is the first American jailed in North Korea in five years. Later that day, the soldier’s mother, Claudine Gates, urged the government of the country to treat her son humanely.
“She’s a mom worried about her son and would be grateful for a phone call from him,” family spokesman Jonathan Franks said in a statement. “Lastly, she has been in touch with the Army this evening and appreciates a (Defense Department) statement that it remains focused on bringing Travis home.”