An American soldier who had been held in a South Korean prison for nearly two months escaped across the heavily armed border into North Korea, becoming the first American detained in the North in nearly five years.
Private 2nd Class Travis King was taken into custody on assault charges and released on July 10 after serving his time.
Instead of getting on a plane to be taken back to Fort Bliss, Texas, he left and joined a tour of the Korean border village of Panmunjom, where he ran across the border, US officials say.
He was detained before North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles into its East Sea early Wednesday, in what appeared to be a statement of defiance as the United States deployed a nuclear-armed submarine to South Korea for the first time in decades.
However, his mother has spoken out, denying claims he is running away and saying she desperately wants her son to come home.
Travis King entered North Korea shortly after being released from a South Korean prison
‘I’m proud of him. I just want him to come home, come back to America,’ Claudine Gates told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
Gates added that he did not see his son fleeing and entering North Korea on purpose.
King, 23, was taken to the airport and escorted through customs, according to officials.
But instead of boarding the plane, he left the airport and later joined the tour in the Korean border village of Panmunjom.
He crossed the border, which is lined with guards and often crowded with tourists, on Tuesday afternoon local time in Korea.
After informing Raja’s family of the incident, the army released his name and limited information.
But several US officials provided additional details on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.
It is not clear how he reached the border or how he spent the hours between leaving the airport on Monday and crossing the border a day later.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed at a Pentagon news conference on Tuesday that US service members are likely now in North Korean custody.
On Tuesday afternoon local time in Korea, the king bolted across the border, which is lined with guards and often crowded with tourists.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed at a Pentagon news conference on Tuesday that US service members are likely now in North Korean custody.
‘We are closely monitoring and investigating the situation,’ Austin said, adding that he was primarily concerned about the soldiers’ well-being. ‘It will develop over the next few days and hours and we will keep you posted.’
According to Army spokesman Bryce Dubee, Raja is a cavalry scout who joined the service in January 2021. He was in Korea as part of the 1st Armored Division.
The American-led UN command said he is believed to be in North Korean custody and that the command is working with North Korean counterparts to resolve the incident. North Korean state media did not immediately report the border crossing.
It is rare for Americans or South Koreans to flee to North Korea, although more than 30,000 North Koreans have fled to South Korea to escape political persecution and economic hardship since the end of the 1950–53 Korean War.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said that between 3:30 a.m. and 3:46 a.m. North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles from an area near the capital Pyongyang that flew about 341 miles before landing in waters east of the Korean peninsula.
Details of the flight were consistent with the Japanese military’s assessment, which said the missiles landed outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone and there were no immediate reports of damage to ships or aircraft in the affected area.
The North Korean missile’s flight distance roughly matches the distance between Pyongyang and the South Korean port city of Busan, where the USS Kentucky arrived on Tuesday afternoon in the first visit by a US nuclear-armed submarine to South Korea since the 1980s.
Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada told reporters that the North Korean missiles traveled at a low trajectory, reached a maximum altitude of about 31 miles and may have displayed ‘irregular maneuvers’ in flight.
Japan has previously used similar language to describe the flight characteristics of a North Korean weapon modeled after Russia’s Iskander missile, which travels at low altitudes and is designed to be maneuvered in flight to improve its chances of evading missile defenses.
North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles into its East Sea early Wednesday in what appeared to be a statement as the United States deployed a nuclear-armed submarine to South Korea for the first time in decades.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff condemned the North Korean launch as a ‘major provocation’ that threatens peace and stability in the region and said the South Korean and US militaries were closely monitoring the North for further weapons activities.
Tuesday’s border crossing comes amid heightened tensions over North Korea’s barrage of missile tests since early last year.
A US nuclear-armed submarine visited South Korea on Tuesday for the first time in four decades to build a deterrent against North Korea.
Wednesday’s launches marked the North’s first ballistic activity since July 12, when it flight-tested a new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile that demonstrated its potential range to reach deep into the US mainland.
The United States, South Korea and others have accused North Korea of using foreign prisoners to gain diplomatic concessions. Some foreigners have said after their release that they were forced to declare their crimes while in North Korean custody.