US soldier Travis King in US custody following his deportation from North Korea to China

WASHINGTON/SEOUL (Reuters) – Private Travis King, the U.S. soldier who fled to North Korea in July, is in U.S. custody after being deported by North Korea to China, U.S. officials said on Wednesday.

North Korea’s state KCNA news agency said King had been expelled after admitting to entering North Korea illegally because he was “disillusioned by the unequal American society.”

A U.S. official told Reuters that King was in U.S. custody after being deported by North Korea to China, but offered no further details.

The expulsion decision was contained in the final results of an investigation into King’s border crossing in July published by KCNA. Last month he reported provisional conclusions who wanted refuge in North Korea or elsewhere due to mistreatment and racial discrimination within the army.

“King confessed that he illegally invaded the territory of the DPRK because he harbored resentments against inhumane mistreatment and racial discrimination within the US military and was disillusioned by the unequal US society,” KCNA said.

DPRK are the initials of the North’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Authorities have decided to expel King according to the country’s law, KCNA said, but did not specify how, when or where he would be expelled.

The U.S. State Department and the White House could not immediately be reached for comment. U.S. Forces Korea and the United Nations Command did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

King, an army soldier, made a sudden run to North Korea from the South on July 18 during a civilian tour of the Joint Security Area on the heavily fortified border between the neighbors.

Has been Several attempts by American soldiers stationed in South Korea to defect or defect to North Korea, but the decision to deport King came relatively quickly: others spent years before being released from the reclusive country.

Jonathan Franks, a spokesman for the King family, said: “No substantive comment is expected. We need time.”

King’s uncle, Myron Gates, told ABC News in August that his nephew, who is black, was experiencing racism during his military deployment and that after spending time in a South Korean prison, he didn’t seem like himself.

King, who joined the US military in January 2021, faced two assault charges in South Korea. He pleaded guilty to a case of assault and destruction of public property for damaging a police car during a profanity-laced tirade against Koreans, according to court documents. He was to face further disciplinary measures when he returned to the United States.

King had completed his military detention and had been transported by the US military to the airport to return to his home unit in the United States. Instead, he left the airport and joined a tour of the border area, where ran for despite attempts by South Korean and American guards to stop him.

Lim Eul-chul, a professor of North Korean studies at South Korea’s Kyungnam University, said Pyongyang may have felt that any diplomatic and propaganda value in keeping King was outweighed by the likely American pressure it would face.

“It seems likely that North Korea saw little value in it as a countermeasure to an American human rights campaign against themselves by highlighting racial issues in the United States,” he said.

“The decision could also mean that the political burden of detaining it for an extended period would be greater than any political benefit it might bring.”

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