North Korea: US soldier fled to us due to racism and discrimination

(Patria) - North Korea announced that US soldier Travis King crossed into its territory last month due to "inhumane mistreatment and racial discrimination" in the army.

The 23-year-old soldier ran across the border from South Korea on July 18 while on a tour with a guide, the BBC reported.

King "expressed his willingness to seek refuge" in North Korea, the country's state media reported. There has been no public comment from the soldier, nor has he been seen since crossing.

US officials said earlier they believe King intentionally crossed the border. He is a reconnaissance specialist who has been in the army since January 2021 and was in South Korea as part of his rotation.

Before crossing the border, he served two months in detention in South Korea on assault charges and was released on July 10. He was supposed to fly back to the US to face disciplinary action, but he managed to leave the airport and join a tour of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), which separates North and South Korea.

"During the investigation, Travis King admitted that he decided to come to the DPRK (North Korea) because he harbored ill feelings against inhumane mistreatment and racial discrimination in the US army," the North Korean state news agency KCNA reported.

"He also expressed his willingness to seek refugee status in the DPRK or a third country, saying he was disappointed with the unequal US society," it added.

One person who said they were on the same tour on the South Korean side as King described how the group had just visited a building at the site when "this man loudly said 'ha ha ha' and just ran between some buildings".

"At first I thought it was a bad joke, but when he didn't come back, I realized it wasn't a joke, and then everyone reacted and things went crazy," the unnamed witness told CBS News.

They added that there were no North Korean soldiers present when King crossed.

"It was on the bus ride back, and we got to one of the checkpoints... someone said 43 of us went, and 42 are coming back."