The deputy commander of the UN Command, British Lieutenant General Andrew Harrison, announced that a conversation has been initiated with the Pyonyang regime regarding Private Travis King. The agency has urged caution in the face of a "very difficult and complex" situation.
BREAKING: The U.N. Command said it has started conversations with North Korea over an American soldier who ran into the North last week across the Koreas’ heavily armed border. North Korea has remained silent about Pvt. Travis King. https://t.co/52HgJWcK3i
— The Associated Press (@AP) July 24, 2023
King crossed the border with North Korea "voluntarily and without authorization"
"Obviously, there is a lot of welfare at stake, and it is clear that we are in a very difficult and complex situation that I don't want to risk speculating or going into too much detail about existing communications," Harrison stressed. The military man, who refused to answer to what the Command knows about King's health status, when the process was initiated, or whether there have been several contacts to date, acknowledged that the information he could provide was "disappointing" but "I’m constrained by what I can say." The lieutenant general acknowledged that "none of us knows where this is going to end" but "I am an optimist in life, and I remain so. But, again, I'll leave it at that."
The deputy commander explained that "there is a mechanism that exists under the armistice agreement, whereby lines of communication are opened between the UNC and the KPA, and that takes place in the JSA. That process has begun," Harrison told reporters at the Foreign Correspondents Club in Seoul.
Harrison also did not clarify the reasons why King crossed the border last week, claiming that "there is an ongoing investigation." What is known at the moment is that the soldier crossed "voluntarily and without authorization" the day before being sent to the US. King had a record for assault and was facing disciplinary action for his conduct.
