North Korea Says Detained U.S. Soldier Admits ‘Illegally’ Entering Nation
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
PYONGYANG/SEOUL (Worthy News) – Pyongyang has, for the first time, commented on the detention of Travis King, saying the detained U.S. soldier admitted to legally entering North Korea on July 18.
There is international concern about his plight as autocratically ruled North Korea has a notorious prison regime. At least hundreds of thousands of inmates are believed to be held in the communist dictatorship in appalling conditions, including many Christians.
Private 2nd Class King entered North Korea while on a tour of a Korean border village, becoming the first American detained in the North in nearly five years, witnesses said.
The North’s official Korean Central News Agency said King told investigators he had decided to enter North Korea because he “harbored ill feeling against inhuman maltreatment and racial discrimination within the U.S. Army.”
It said King was willing to seek refuge in North Korea or a third country, as he “was disillusioned at the unequal American society.”
HEAVY FINE
He was fined about $3,950 for damaging a South Korean police cruiser last October, according to U.S. officials.
King allegedly told his superiors that he did not intend to return to the U.S. during a disciplinary scuffle last September.
The young soldier’s family members have linked his behavior to his struggle with losing his 6-year-old cousin earlier this year.
It was unclear whether North Korean autocratic leader Kim Jong Un would be willing to free King at a time when the U.S. criticized North Korea’s human rights record.
Yet the United Nations Command, which operates the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between North and South Korea, said: “We are working with our KPA (Korean People’s Army) counterparts to resolve this incident.”
It meant another headache dossier for President Biden, who already struggles with the war in Ukraine, strained relations with China, and simmering conflicts in the Middle East.
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