North Korea is preparing to expel American soldier Travis King, who entered its territory illegally in July from the South, the North Korean state agency KCNA announced on Wednesday.
After completing its investigation, “the competent body of the DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Editor’s note) decided to expel Travis King, a soldier of the American army who had illegally entered the territory of the DPRK KCNA said, using the acronym for North Korea’s official name.
This American soldier who defected to North Korea in July had just spent two months in a South Korean prison.
By crossing the border with the South, Travis King sought to escape “mistreatment and racial discrimination in the American army,” KCNA said in August, confirming that the soldier was detained by Pyongyang.
Travis King was due to return to the United States after getting into trouble with the South Korean justice system, but he crossed the border with the North on July 18, joining a group of tourists visiting the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas.
A second-class soldier, he was released from prison in South Korea after a brawl in a bar and an altercation with the police. He was expected to return to the United States to face disciplinary action.
The two Koreas have technically still been at war since 1953, as it was an armistice and not a peace treaty that ended the armed conflict.
Fortifications abound on the border, but only a concrete wall separates the two countries at the level of the common security zone (JSA), which remains less difficult to cross despite the presence of soldiers.
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