US Soldier Travis King Freed By North Korea; ‘Happy’ To Go Home
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
PYONGYANG/SEOUL (Worthy News) – North Korea has freed U.S. soldier Travis King, who is “happy” to be heading home, officials said, though he still faces prosecution for alleged misbehavior while serving in the U.S. army. King is in “good health” nearly three months after he ran across the border from South Korea, according to U.S. sources familiar with the case.
The 23-year-old’s release comes after intense behind-the-scenes diplomacy, Worthy News established. It ends the prospect of an extended stay in a nation that used detained Americans as bargaining chips and where many inmates, including Christians, have reportedly been mistreated and even killed behind bars.
North Korea’s state news agency had made a surprise announcement just hours earlier that Pyongyang had decided to expel King, who was on his way to Texas on Wednesday.
King crossed the North Korean border to China with the help of Swedish diplomats, where he was handed over to the U.S. ambassador and a senior military officer on Wednesday. He then flew out to a U.S. military base.
White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement that “U.S. officials have secured the return of Private Travis King” from North Korea.
“We thank the government of Sweden for its diplomatic role… and the government of the People’s Republic of China for its assistance in facilitating the transit of Private King,” he said.
King will be taken to the Brooke Army Medical Center in Texas upon his return to the United States — the same place that US basketball star Brittney Griner was evaluated after being released by Russia, officials confirmed.
LONG ORDEAL
It has been a long ordeal for King, whose problems began after a drunken pub fight, an incident with police, and a stay in South Korean jail, according to investigators.
He spent about two months at a South Korean detention center, U.S. officials confirmed.
King faced two assault allegations and was fined about $3,950 for damaging a South Korean police cruiser last October, according to U.S. officials.
The young soldier’s family members have linked his behavior to his struggle with losing his 6-year-old cousin earlier this year.
Private Second Class King was taken to the airport in July to fly back to Texas.
But instead of traveling to Fort Bliss for disciplinary hearings, King escaped, joined a Demilitarized Zone sightseeing trip, and slipped over the border.
Last month, Pyongyang confirmed it was holding him, saying King had defected to North Korea to escape “mistreatment and racial discrimination in the U.S. Army.”
REINTEGRATION PROCESS
However, a U.S. official said, “We’re going to guide him through a reintegration process that will address any medical and emotional concerns and ensure we get him in a good place to reunite with his family.”
Any disciplinary action, including a possible court martial, would happen after that, the official added. Several sources weren’t identified because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly or for security concerns.
Questions remained as to why North Korean autocratic leader Kim Jong Un was willing to free King at a time when he sought closer ties with Russia and China and challenged the U.S.
The U.S. also criticized North Korea’s human rights record, further upsetting Pyongyang. Hundreds of thousands of people, including many devoted Christians, are believed to suffer in labor camps where they face torture and possible execution, according to several sources.
Yet North Korea is extremely sensitive about any outside attempt to undermine Kim’s leadership and weaken his absolute control over the country’s 26 million people.
And it has made clear it wants ease in many sanctions that the U.S. and its allies imposed over Pyongyang’s nuclear program amid ongoing missile tests. There isn’t much left in the American economic toolkit to throw at North Korea, analysts suggest. One U.S. State Department was joking that “there may be a corner shop or two in Pyongyang that haven’t been targeted, but that’s about it.”
It wasn’t clear whether King’s release would help to improve U.S.-North Korea relations. However, his unexpected deportation underscored that Pyongyang and Washington didn’t burn all diplomatic bridges to come to agreements.
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