Private 2nd Class Travis King, who was being shipped back to the States after being arrested in South Korea on assault charges, escaped custody and fled across the North Korean border at Panmunjom. He’s now in North Korean custody.
It’s unclear exactly how King escaped custody at the airport and joined a group that was touring Panmunjom, or the Joint Security Area, which straddles the inter-Korean border. King left the tour group and ran across the border with tour guides in pursuit. He was seen being taken into custody by the North Koreans.
“We’re closely monitoring and investigating the situation and working to notify the soldier’s next of kin,” Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said at a press conference on Tuesday. “This will develop in the next several days and hours, and we’ll keep you posted.”
Col. Isaac Taylor, a public affairs officer for the U.S. Forces Korea, said King “willfully and without authorization crossed the Military Demarcation Line into the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.” Col. Taylor added, “We believe he is currently in D.P.R.K. custody.”
How did MPs escorting King back to Fort Bliss end up losing their prisoner at the airport and allow him to join a tour group?
The U.N. Command allows tour groups in the Joint Security Area, which was created as part of the 1953 armistice that halted the Korean War 70 years ago next week. Tourists can visit the area from South Korea while unarmed soldiers trail closely behind.
The soldier detained on Tuesday was the first known American held in North Korean custody since Bruce Byron Lowrance was detained for a month after illegally entering the country from China in 2018.
This is not the best time for an incident like this. Kim Jong Un has been firing off missiles on a regular basis, and his dragon-lady sister has been issuing blood-curdling warnings against the U.S.
“The U.S. should stop its foolish act of provoking the DPRK even by imperilling its security,” Kim said in a statement carried by KCNA. DPRK refers to the North’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
“It is a daydream for the U.S. to think that it can stop the advance of the DPRK and, furthermore, achieve irreversible disarmament through the interim suspension of joint military exercises, halt to the deployment of strategic assets and the reversible sanction relief,” she said.
North Korea has in recent days accused American spy planes of flying over its exclusive economic zone, condemned a recent visit to South Korea by an American nuclear-powered cruise missile submarine, and vowed to take steps in reaction.
While the possibility of King being part of an intelligence operation can’t be dismissed, it’s not likely given North Korea’s paranoia.
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