Hours later, a U.S. official said Travis King was in U.S. custody, briefing reporters under ground rules of anonymity
U.S. authorities have said Pvt. 2nd Class King was punished for misconduct while serving in South Korea and was due to be sent back to the United States when he skipped his scheduled flight.
Instead, he joined a tour of the Joint Security Area (JSA) in the demilitarized zone separating North and South Korea before he appeared to dart across the border. He has not been heard from since.
The United States has said King was apparently in North Korean custody — a rare case of an American service member held in the country — and that it was seeking his release.
Last month, North Korea claimed that King told investigators he had decided to cross into North Korea because of his “ill feeling against inhuman maltreatment and racial discrimination within the U.S. Army.” The U.S. Defense Department said it could not verify North Korea’s comments on King.
U.S. officials have said the soldier “willfully and without authorization” crossed into the North during a tour of the JSA.
The United Nations oversees the frontier area that straddles North and South Korea, where the JSA is a section of the demilitarized zone separating the two since the 1950-1953 Korean War ended in an armistice. The zone has been used for civilian tours and diplomatic discussions.
The United States, which has no formal diplomatic relations with North Korea, has worked with Sweden to help secure King’s return. Sweden has an embassy in Pyongyang, although its diplomats were ordered to leave during the pandemic.
King is the first U.S. national known to be detained in North Korea in nearly five years. Releases of Americans detained after voluntarily entering the country have largely followed high-level talks.
The State Department has imposed a ban on U.S. nationals traveling to North Korea since 2017, after the death of Otto Warmbier. The American student, who traveled to Pyongyang and was detained on charges of stealing a propaganda poster, died soon after being sent back to the United States in a coma.
Francis reported from London.
