SEOUL — An American soldier reportedly facing disciplinary action on Tuesday fled into North Korea and is now in the custody of the Pyongyang regime, U.S. military officials said Tuesday.
The bizarre incident took place in the Joint Security Area, or JSA, at the truce village of Panmunjom. It lies inside the DMZ and is a major draw for tourists to South Korea.
Two U.S. officials said the soldier detained was Pvt. 2nd Class Travis King, who had been held in a South Korean prison on an assault charge and was being returned to the U.S. to face additional disciplinary actions. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters at the Pentagon that U.S. military officials were “closely monitoring” the case, the first known American citizen to be held by the secretive Pyongyang regime in five years.
U.S. officials described a bizarre series of events in which Pvt. King, after being escorted to the airport to be flown back to Fort Bliss, Texas, somehow managed to elude his minders and join a tourist group exploring the famed military border, where he made a sudden dash to the North Korean side.
“A U.S. Service member on [an] orientation tour willfully and without authorization crossed the Military Demarcation Line into [North Korea],” Col. Isaac Taylor, a spokesman for the U.S. forces in South Korea, said in a statement. “We believe he is currently in [North Korean] custody and are working with our [North Korean military] counterparts to resolve this incident.”
There was no immediate mention in North Korea‘s heavily controlled state press about the private’s defection or how he had been received in the North, and the Pentagon released few personal details on Pvt. King, his family or his legal problems.
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Sources told The Washington Times that the soldier was not in uniform at the time he bolted. Examples of people seeking to defect to North Korea are exceedingly rare, while more than 30,000 North Koreans have fled to South Korea to escape political oppression and poverty in the decades since the end of the Korean War, according to The Associated Press.
At the Pentagon, Mr. Austin told a briefing that U.S. officials were “investigating the situation and working to notify the soldier’s next of kin, and engaging to address this incident.”
“I’m absolutely foremost concerned about the welfare of our troops. We will remain focused on this,” Mr. Austin added, saying the situation was likely to “develop in the next several days and hours.”
Personal details about Pvt. King were not immediately available. It was also unclear how he managed to leave the airport while he was being escorted.
The DMZ incident took place on the same day a U.S. ballistic missile submarine is visiting South Korea and while a Nuclear Consultative Group of the two nations is meeting in Seoul. During their summit in Washington in April, President Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol established the NSG, which upgrades the bilateral alliance between the two nations and grants Seoul NATO-style input into the potential use of nuclear arms.
The nuclear-powered submarine USS Kentucky is making the first public port call by an American nuclear sub to South Korea in decades. North Korea state media has warned of heightened risks on the peninsula.
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While the United Nations Command conducts orientations for visiting politicians, officials and troops, the border’s JSA is open at times to civilian tour groups, albeit under strict military control and conditions. It is unclear why the soldier was not restrained as United Nations Command guards keep a close eye on tour groups from the southern side.
No shooting was reported in Tuesday’s incident, but previous crossings have not been so peaceful.
Most recently, North Korean soldier Oh Chung-song, apparently acting on impulse, made a dash for the South Korean side in 2017. His comrades opened fire on him. He was treated for five gunshot wounds in the South and survived.
What happens next is unclear. Telephone hotlines exist at Panmunjom, and U.N. Command officials are in contact with North Korean military officials.
“If the guy decided to do what he did, he will not want to come back,” Mr. Tharp said. “And even if he does, the North Koreans will say he does not. This is perfect propaganda.”
Six American troops defected to North Korea between 1962 and 1982.
• Ben Wolfgang contributed to this article, which was based in part on wire service reports.
• Andrew Salmon can be reached at asalmon@washingtontimes.com.
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