The American who crossed the border between the two Koreas last Tuesday was identified by the U.S. Army as Private Travis King, who was about to be extradited to the United States from South Korea to face assault charges.
Some reports and interventions from the Department of Defense (DOD) shed some light on King's identity. According to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Private King crossed the demilitarized zone of his own free will and without any order or authorization.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed on Tuesday that North Korea had detained an American soldier, who was identified as Pvt. Travis King, after he illegally entered the country. https://t.co/tuvl9sBhpy pic.twitter.com/CjKTJyjXNc
— The New York Times (@nytimes) July 18, 2023
King's escape
According to the magazine Military.com, King had just been released by South Korean authorities after being arrested for assault. The 20-year-old soldier, a native of Wisconsin, was scheduled to board a flight at Incheon International Airport for Fort Bliss, Texas. There he was to be judged by the military hierarchy. However, he apparently escaped from the military police and ended up hiding among a group of civilian tourists.
As the tour group visited the vicinity of the border with North Korea, King then ran and crossed over to the North Korean side. According to NK News, a Swedish tourist witnessed King's cross-border escape. According to her, King screamed, broke away from the group and started running towards North Korea.
The Swedish tourist said, "To our right, we heard a loud 'HA-HA-HA' and one guy from our group that has been with us all day ran between two of the buildings and to the other side." "It took everyone a second to react and grasp what had actually happened. Then we were ordered to go into and through Freedom House, run through it and running back to our military bus."
Criminal charges in Korea
According to NK News, Travis King joined the Army in January 2021. Since then he served in the cavalry and was part of several international rotations. Throughout his service, he received the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Defense Service Medal and the Overseas Service Ribbon.
According to NK News, the charges King is charged with are for events dating back to September and October 2022. At the time, King was arrested by South Korean police after assaulting a person in a bar. When he was arrested, he shouted insults such as "f*** the Koreans, f*** the Korean Army, f*** the Korean Police" and smashed the window of a police patrol car.
Prior to this, King had been arrested in September on similar charges. He allegedly punched a South Korean citizen in the face several times while drunk at a club in Seoul at 9:40 a.m. local time. According to the report, the victim refused to share his drink and hang out with King, which set him off.
WISN 12 News has learned a U.S. soldier detained in North Korea has a Racine connection.
His mother, Claudine Gates of Racine, told ABC News the Army told her on Tuesday her son had crossed into North Korea. pic.twitter.com/lNZm9Q6zeg— Kendall Keys (@KendallKeysTV) July 18, 2023
ABC interviewed King's mother on Tuesday. Claudine Gates said she is shocked by everything that has happened and said she finds it hard to believe the situation her son has ended up in. "I can't imagine Travis doing something like that," Claudine Gates told ABC. "I'm so proud of him. I just want him to come home, to come back to America," she said.
It is hard to say what may happen to King in the coming days and weeks. U.S. officials claim to be working to get the soldier out of North Korea, but no progress has been announced.
