U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed on Tuesday an American soldier is probably going within the custody of North Korea after fleeing throughout the closely armed border from South Korea.
This after two U.S. officers earlier on Tuesday mentioned the soldier detained was Private 2nd Class Travis King, who had simply been launched from a South Korean jail the place he’d been held on assault expenses and was going through extra army disciplinary actions within the United States.
King, who’s in his early 20s, was escorted to the airport to be returned to Fort Bliss, Texas, however as a substitute of getting on the airplane he left and joined a tour of the Korean border village of Panmunjom, the place he ran throughout the border, the officers mentioned on the situation of anonymity to debate the matter forward of a public announcement.
Details about King, together with his hometown and what extra expenses he confronted, weren’t instantly accessible. It was additionally unclear how he managed to go away the airport whereas he was being escorted.
The American-led U.N. Command mentioned he’s believed to be in North Korean custody and the command is working with its North Korean counterparts to resolve the incident. North Korea’s state media didn’t instantly report on the border crossing.
Cases of Americans or South Koreans defecting to North Korea are uncommon, although greater than 30,000 North Koreans have fled to South Korea to keep away from political oppression and financial difficulties for the reason that finish of the 1950-53 Korean War.
Content Source: www.washingtontimes.com