North Korea's ominous silence over American soldier who bolted across border

19 July 2023 , 15:13

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Travis King crossed into North Korea shortly after being released from prison in South Korea (Image: WSN 12 News)

North Korea has stayed silent over the detention of an American soldier who sprinted from the south across the heavily fortified border.
Private Travis King bolted into the rogue nation’s territory while on a tour of the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) on Tuesday.

The 23-year-old fled from South Korea after he was supposed to leave the country and travel to a base in the States.

King, who had recently been released from prison, had been escorted by the military to Incheon International Airport outside Seoul for possible further disciplinary action in America.

But instead of proceeding to his gate, he joined a commercial tour group headed for the joint security area.

A U.S. soldier who had served in South Korea crossed the military demarcation line separating the two Koreas into North Korea without authorization. (Getty Images)

The truce village, also known as Panmunjom, is about an hour and a half from the airport and is the only place along the approximately 155-mile DMZ where North Korea and South Korea interact.

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Sarah Leslie, a tourist from New Zealand who was in King’s group, said the tour was nearing its end and the group was “sort of milling around” under the watchful eyes of South Korean and American soldiers.

She said troops on the North Korean side appeared to be inside a building. Suddenly, she noticed a man “running what looked like full gas towards the North Korean side,” she said.

The South Korean and American soldiers ordered the rest of the group inside and chased after King but couldn’t catch him.
“Everybody was stunned and shocked,” Leslie said.

“There were some people who hadn’t even realized what was going on.”

King was initially reported to South Korean police after allegedly punching a Korean national at a nightclub in Seoul on September 25 last year but was not indicted because the victim did not want to press charges.

In February, he was fined five million won (£3,100) in Seoul on charges that included damaging public property, according to South Korean court documents.

He was accused of repeatedly kicking a police patrol car in Seoul last year, causing several damage.

King did not cooperate when apprehended by officers at the scene and was shouting profanities about Koreans and the Korean army.
The American has been serving in the Army since January 2021, according to U.S. Army spokesman Bryce Dubee.

Meanwhile, nuclear-armed North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles eastward from its west coast early Wednesday local time, South Korea and Japan said.

Christopher Bucktin