American soldier in US custody after release from North Korea

Soldier was freed with help from Sweden, transported to China for handover.

Travis King, fourth left in a black shirt, takes a border tour to the truce village of Panmunjom in the DMZ on July 18. Picture: AFP

An American soldier who fled to North Korea in July was released to US officials in China and flown to a U.S. military base in South Korea, US officials said.

North Korea said Wednesday it had decided to deport Travis King, 23 years old, after he admitted to illegally entering the country, according to a state media report.

King, who had been stationed in South Korea, inexplicably dashed across the border without permission on July 18 while on a tour of the Joint Security Area in the Demilitarized Zone. King had faced potential punishment by the US Army and was expected to board a flight home, but left the airport without authorization and went to the border.

The soldier had remained in North Korea since, creating a diplomatic conundrum for U.S. officials. The US repeatedly reached out to Pyongyang, with which it has no formal diplomatic relations, without success.

Working through Sweden, which handles US diplomatic affairs in North Korea, the Biden administration learned weeks ago that Pyongyang was intent on releasing the soldier, U.S. officials said. Swedish officials arrived in North Korea in recent days to secure his release, and with their help King was transported by airplane to China. There, he was turned over to U.S. diplomats with the U.S. Embassy in Beijing.

“The operational coordination that was required from our diplomats, from members of our military and from the partners with whom we worked on this operation was significant and extraordinary,” said one U.S. official.

While U.S. officials were grateful for China’s role in facilitating his release, they stressed that Beijing didn’t mediate the release. The official added that the U.S. didn’t provide North Korea any concessions to secure King’s release.

Although Swedish officials appeared to have mediated King’s release, U.S. officials said that national security adviser Jake Sullivan spoke about the issue in his meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi earlier this month in Malta.

It is unclear what will happen to King, who had been declared absent without leave and had faced disciplinary action for his conduct while stationed in South Korea. U.S. officials declined to say if he would face a court-martial or other punitive action, saying only that he appeared happy to be returning home.

Travis King.

“Our focus right now is on Pvt. King’s health and ensuring that he receives all appropriate support before reuniting with his family,” the official said.

King had faced assault charges in South Korea last year and spent nearly seven weeks in a detention facility, according to U.S. officials. Facing disciplinary actions and a possible discharge, King was supposed to board a flight back to the U.S. on July 17. Military officers escorted him to Incheon International Airport, but instead of boarding the flight, he slipped away. The next day he joined a civilian tour of the Demilitarized Zone, which he fled to cross the border. King was the first U.S. service member to voluntarily enter North Korea in decades.

North Korean state media reported on Wednesday that King claimed to harbor “ill feeling against inhuman maltreatment and racial discrimination within the U.S. Army.” U.S. officials have previously cautioned that they couldn’t verify comments North Korea was attributing to King.

The U.S. has previously negotiated for the release of Americans from North Korea by dispatching prominent U.S. officials to the country. But the Kim regime has refused to engage in diplomatic talks with the U.S. in recent years. U.S. officials said they had reached out to North Korea about King through multiple channels but that Pyongyang hadn’t engaged.

In the past, Americans have been sent to Beijing from Pyongyang following detention in North Korea. In 2013, Merrill Newman, an American tourist, was detained in North Korea before departing the country. About a month into his detention, North Korea released footage showing Newman signing a confession for war crimes committed during the Korean War. He was freed a week after he was seen signing the confession and deported to China.

Robert Park, an American missionary arrested in North Korea in 2009, was freed after Pyongyang said he had expressed repentance for entering the country illegally. Park took an Air Koryo flight from Pyongyang to Beijing before being flown back to the U.S.

The Wall Street Journal