American Soldier Who ‘Willfully’ Crossed Border Into North Korea Was Facing Military Disciplinary Action

A US Army soldier is making headlines worldwide after he crossed the border between North and South Korea. Private Second Class Travis King, 23, was slated to return to the United States when he crossed the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between the two countries, becoming the first American soldier to cross the border since 1982.

US and South Korean soldiers standing guard during South Korean Unification Minister Lee In-young’s visit to Panmunjom, 2020. (Photo Credit: Park Tae-hyun-Korea – Pool / Getty Images)

The United Nations Command (UNC), stationed in the border village of Panmunjom, in the Joint Security Area (JSA), was the first to raise the alarm over Travis King crossing into North Korea, writing in a statement:

“A U.S. National on a JSA orientation tour crossed, without authorization, the Military Demarcation Line into the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). We believe he is currently in DPRK custody and are working with our KPA counterparts to resolve this incident.”

According to reports, on July 18, 2023, King was escorted to Incheon Airport, just outside of Seoul, for his return to Fort Bliss, Texas to face military disciplinary action. After making it through security, he managed to ditch his escort and leave the airport terminal, after which he traveled to Panmunjom and joined a visitor’s tour of the DMZ.

King was dressed in civilian clothes at the time. According to a now-deleted Facebook post from someone who was on the tour, he cried out before running between two nearby buildings and crossing into North Korea.

Travis King, the US Army cavalry scout who crossed the border in North Korea. (Photo Credit: United States Armed Forces / New York Post / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain)

According to NPR, Travis King enlisted in the US Army in January 2021. He hasn’t served any combat deployments. When sent to South Korea, the cavalry scout was initially assigned to 6th Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, before being administratively attached to 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division.

While the US military has declined to comment on a recent two-month imprisonment in South Korea on assault charges, NBC News has reported King was involved in several run-ins with the law while stationed in the country. On September 25, 2022, he allegedly punched a Korean national at a Seoul night club. The victim in the case refused to press charges.

In February 2023, King was charged five million won on charges that included damaging public property after he kicked a police car numerous time, causing several hundreds dollars in damage. The cavalry scout reportedly refused to cooperate after he was apprehended, and was said to have shouted profanities about the Korean Army.

Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between North and South Korea, 1990. (Photo Credit: Kurita KAKU / Gamma-Rapho / Getty Images)

It’s currently unknown if Travis King planned to defect to the North. However, Jacco Zwetsloot, a former tour operator in the region, told the BBC that there’s “no way this person could escape from the airport one day and book on to one of these tours the next.” Such excursions take three days to plan, and anyone joining a tour needs to submit their passport and other credentials.

Speaking a press conference on July 18, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters that it’s believed King’s currently in North Korean custody, adding he “willfully and without authorization” crossed the border. Austin also said the Department of Defense is closely monitoring the situation.

ABC News approached King’s mother, Claudine Gates, who said she was “shocked” by the news, explaining, “I can’t see Travis doing anything like that.”

North Korea’s propaganda village of Gijungdong is seen from a South Korean observation post inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating North and South Korea, 2022. (Photo Credit: Chung Sung-Jun / Getty Images)

Travis King’s crossing is likely to increase already-strained tensions between the US and North Korea. Already at odds, they’ve been even more so over the latter’s continued missile launches and threats of nuclear violence. The US military’s presence in the Indo-Pacific has also raised issues between the two nations.

While US military defections are rare, they aren’t unheard of. Four soldiers defected during the Cold War, including then-Sgt. Charles Jenkins, who crossed the border in 1965 to avoid being sent to Vietnam. While there, he was imprisoned, tortured and forced to appear in propaganda videos. He was released in 2004.

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The US Department of State has barred Americans from visiting North Korea since 2017, after Otto Warmbier was imprisoned for allegedly stealing a propaganda poster from his hotel room while on a visit the year prior. He was eventually returned to the US in a vegetative state after suffering a neurological injury, and died after his parents requested his feeding tube be removed.

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