US Soldier Who Defected to North Korea Sentenced to 1 Year in Prison

A US soldier who crossed into North Korea without permission has been sentenced to 1 year in prison by a US court. Private Travis King, 24, was found guilty of desertion and assaulting a non-commissioned officer.

According to the BBC, the military court in Fort Bliss, Texas, sentenced Private King to 1 year in prison, demotion to enlisted man (E-1), forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and dishonorable discharge.

Private King was initially charged with 14 counts, including desertion, assault on a non-commissioned officer, and disobeying a superior officer. However, he pleaded guilty to 5 charges, and the rest were dismissed.

Private King’s lawyer, Rosenblatt, stated that the judge took into account Private King’s long imprisonment and good behavior, and therefore released him immediately.

Private King was charged with crossing the Military Demarcation Line without permission and defecting to North Korea while serving as a US soldier stationed in Korea on July 17 last year.

After getting into a drunken fight in a bar in Korea, Private King was disciplined and imprisoned. He was then taken to the airport to be returned to the United States but fled without getting on the plane.

The next day, Private King took part in a field trip to the Joint Security Area (JSA) and crossed the Military Demarcation Line without permission before disappearing into North Korea.

North Korea claimed that Private King was a “refugee fleeing abuse and racial discrimination in the United States military.”

After investigating Private King, North Korea announced its intention to release him through Sweden in September last year, and deported him through the Chinese border on the 27th of that month.

Private King, who returned to the United States, was immediately detained at the Fort Bliss base and tried on charges of desertion, possession of child sexual exploitation material, assaulting a fellow soldier, disobeying superior orders, illegal possession of alcohol, making false statements, and assaulting a police officer.

During the trial, Private King stated that he had been dissatisfied with his work while serving in the US Army in Korea and had been considering leaving for a year before going to North Korea.